SCOTLAND

Devolution: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what occasions he has discussed the devolution of council tax rebate with  (a) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities,  (b) local authorities in Scotland,  (c) the Scottish Executive and  (d) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since his appointment.

Michael Moore: I am in regular contact with a range of stakeholders on matters concerning aspects of welfare reform. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Institute of Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

David Mundell: In the last 10 years the Scotland Office has spent £60 on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, all in 2010.

TRANSPORT

AA

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with  (a) the AA,  (b) the RAC Foundation and  (c) other motoring organisations on the appropriate weight limits for alloy wheels fitted to vehicles on UK roads; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: Ministers have regular discussions with a number of organisations, including both the AA and the RAC Foundation, at which a wide range of road safety issues are discussed. However, the issue of the appropriate weight limits for alloy wheels has not been raised.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 28 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 460-61W.

Alloy Wheels

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with  (a) ministerial colleagues and  (b) his officials on proposals to introduce a legal weight limit for alloy wheels fitted to vehicles used on public roads; what recent representations he has received on weight limits for alloy wheels since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Secretary of State for Transport has not had any discussions with ministerial colleagues or officials on proposals to introduce a legal weight limit for alloy wheels fitted to vehicles used on public roads.
	The Secretary of State for Transport has had one representation on weight limits for alloy wheels. I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 28 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 460-461W.

Alloy Wheels

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 28 October 2010,  Official Report, column 460W, on alloy wheels, if he will place in the Library a copy of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe regulation on alloy wheels.

Michael Penning: A copy of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 124 (Uniform Provisions concerning the Approval of Wheels for Passenger Cars and their Trailers) has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Alloy Wheels: Imports

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on defective alloy wheel imports; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Secretary of State for Transport has had one representation regarding potentially substandard imported commercial vehicle wheels.
	Existing legislation already requires new products, including wheels, which are placed on the market to be safe and fit for purpose. Action can be taken if a product is found to be unsafe.

BRB (Residuary): Land

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the land in the ownership of BRB (Residuary) Ltd when that body is abolished.

Theresa Villiers: BRB (Residuary) Ltd will continue its agreed programme to dispose of land that has been determined to have no further operational transport use on terms that deliver the best value for money to the taxpayer.
	Any land still held by BRB (Residuary) Ltd when it is abolished will transfer to the direct ownership of the Secretary of State for Transport.

Bus Services: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the number of buses operating in rural areas of the reduction in Bus Service Operators Grant in combination with  (a) likely levels of local authority spending on bus services and  (b) the abolition of Rural Bus Subsidy Grant;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the reduction in the Bus Service Operators Grant in combination with projected levels of local authority spending on bus services on the number of buses operating in  (a) rural,  (b) non-metropolitan urban and  (c) metropolitan areas.

Norman Baker: Outside London, around 80% of local bus services in England are provided by operators on a commercial basis. Local authorities procure the remaining 20%. It is up to local authorities to decide how they use their funding. As we do not know what the likely level of local authority spending on bus services will be in the future, we are not able to estimate what the effects will be on the number of buses. The impacts will vary according to each local authority's decision.
	With regard to the potential impacts of the reduction in Bus Service Operators Grant, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 2 November 2010,  Official Report, column 702W.

Northern Hub

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent assessment is of progress in the development of the Northern Hub.

Theresa Villiers: Network Rail is developing the Northern Hub plans and will complete the next stage in spring 2011. We then expect Network Rail to include the Northern Hub in its initial strategic business plan.
	This will enable us to consider in 2012 whether a Northern Hub scheme can be funded and what progress can be made on the project during the next Network Rail control period (2014-15 to 2019-20).

Rolling Stock: South East

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects new rail rolling stock for the South East to be purchased; and on which lines it is expected to run.

Theresa Villiers: An announcement regarding Thameslink and rolling stock in the South East will be made in due course.
	The South East will also benefit from the additional capacity provided by the Crossrail project, which was confirmed by the Government on the 20 October. On completion, this will deliver new trains on routes across London into Essex, Kent and Berkshire.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Catering

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many complaints the Commission has received on the operation of catering facilities in the House of Commons in each of the last five years.

Stuart Bell: The Commission has not directly received complaints about the operation of catering facilities other than a letter about the recent price rises. Complaints are received by the Director of Catering Services in various written or oral forms, including comment books in some of the catering outlets, but no record is kept of the overall number.

Catering

John Leech: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  if he will estimate the contribution to annual UK greenhouse gas emissions of meat and dairy produce procured for sale in House of Commons catering outlets in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much  (a) meat and  (b) dairy produce was disposed of unused by catering outlets in the House in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stuart Bell: The House of Commons Catering and Retail Service does not keep records that would enable these figures to be estimated.

Catering

John Leech: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will review the amount of meat and dairy produce procured for sale in House of Commons catering outlets for the purpose of reducing the level of such produce consumed in the House of Commons.

Stuart Bell: This is a matter for personal choice. All catering outlets in the House of Commons offer a menu that gives consumers the opportunity to eat vegetarian or fish dishes if they wish to avoid eating meat or dairy products.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

British Waterways: Finance

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration she has given to continuing her Department's funding of British Waterways.

Richard Benyon: The level of grant for British Waterways is currently being considered, following the outcome of the spending review. The reduction in British Waterways' grant will not be any greater because British Waterways is becoming a charity than it would otherwise have been, as the Government wish to get the charity off to the best start that we can afford. The move to charity status will require a long-term contract for continued Government support.

British Waterways: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she had discussions with the Scottish Executive on her proposal for the transfer to a mutual trust of assets held by British Waterways in Scotland.

Richard Benyon: British Waterways Scotland currently manage Scottish assets for the benefit of the inland waterways in Scotland. When British Waterways in England and Wales becomes a charitable body, its non-operational property portfolio will transfer to the new body. The Scottish Executive has decided that British Waterways Scotland will remain in the public sector and use the existing legal structure to exercise its functions solely in relation to Scotland. Scottish assets will continue to be managed by British Waterways Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Executive. We will be discussing with the Scottish Executive and British Waterways other issues relating to assets.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has established processes to monitor any effects of proposed reductions in its expenditure.

Richard Benyon: The Department publishes equality/regulatory impact assessments for all proposals that impose or reduce costs on businesses or civil society, or which affect costs in the public sector. These assessments establish a basis for subsequent monitoring and ex-post evaluation and are updated at the relevant stages of the policy development cycle.

Food: Labelling

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to require halal meat offered for sale to be labelled as such.

James Paice: I appreciate that this is an issue which people feel strongly about and we will be working with interested groups to find a way to address their concerns. People should know what they are buying in shops and when they are eating out, and I will be discussing with the food industry whether labelling and point of sale information can play a greater role in giving consumers a choice.

Sewers: Private Sector

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many pumping stations there are;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the monetary value of the private drains, sewers and pump stations that are due to transfer to sewerage companies from 1 October 2011;
	(3)  when she expects Ofwat to publish its plan for the transfer of private drains, sewers and pump stations to sewerage companies;
	(4)  what plans she has for the implementation of the transfer of private drains, sewers and pump stations to sewerage companies;
	(5)  what recent representations she has received from the drainage industry on the proposed transfer of private drains and sewers to sewerage companies;
	(6)  what estimate she has made of the likely effects on small and medium-sized enterprises in the waste-water sector of the transfer of private sewers and lateral drains to sewerage companies;
	(7)  what consultation her Department undertook with the pumping station industry prior to the publication of the draft Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011;
	(8)  what assessment she has made of the likely effects on the incidence of flooding of the proposed transfer of private drains, sewers and pump stations to sewerage companies;
	(9)  what assessment she has made of the average change in water bills of the implementation of the proposed transfer of funding for private drains and sewers to sewerage companies; and if she will make a statement;

Richard Benyon: On 26 August the Government and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) jointly published a consultation paper on draft regulations for transfer to the ownership of the water and sewerage companies of private sewers and lateral drains which drain to the public sewerage system in England and Wales. The consultation, supplemented by a series of workshops held jointly with WAG, seeks final responses by 18 November. To date, DEFRA has received many representations from the drainage industry. The current consultation follows earlier consultations on the subject in 2003 and 2007, to which DEFRA also received many responses, and is available via the DEFRA website.
	In addition to the formal consultation process, DEFRA has been working closely with a steering group including the water industry regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Water UK, the Consumer Council for Water, WAG, other Government Departments and representatives of local authorities, the insurance industry, house builders and the drainage industry. DEFRA has also held meetings with more specialist groups including representatives of the pump installation and maintenance industry, to hear their views and gather evidence. Representations from the independent drainage sector have focused on concern about the approach taken by the water and sewerage companies to the procurement of maintenance services after transfer.
	The current impact assessment was published with the August consultation paper. It estimates the transfer to result in an increase in annual sewerage bills in the range £3 to £14. This includes the cost of the transfer of private pumping stations, based on an estimated number of 22,000. It also contains a Small Firms Impact Test and considers the benefits to householders including reduced incidence of blockages, which can result in sewer flooding. It is not anticipated that incidence of surface water flooding will be significantly affected. The impact assessment will be updated in the light of the outcome of the consultation.

JUSTICE

Criminal Proceedings: Translation Services

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of compliance with the EU Directive on the right to translation and interpretation in criminal proceedings; and from which budget within his Department funding for such services will be drawn.

Crispin Blunt: In my written ministerial statement on 16 September 2010,  Official Report, columns 64-66WS, the Government announced proposed changes to arrangements for the provision of interpretation and translation services across the justice sector. The changes aim to reduce waste and cut costs whilst safeguarding quality. Until the work is complete it is not possible to provide an accurate assessment of any potential costs arising from the directive. Interpretation and translation costs are met from within a range of operational budgets across the justice sector.

Google

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the  (a) timescale and  (b) terms of reference are for the audit of Google's Street View project announced by the Information Commissioner on 3 November 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Google will be subject to an audit by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within nine months of signing an undertaking, which is intended to commit the company to take action ensuring that breaches of the Data Protection Act of the kind which have occurred do not occur again. Terms of reference will be agreed prior to the audit.
	This information has been provided by the ICO.

Information Commissioner: Complaints

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken was for the Office of the Information Commissioner to respond to complaints in latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following table shows the average number of days taken by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to resolve complaints, broken down by data protection and freedom of information for the period 1 November 2008 to 31 October 2010.
	
		
			   Days 
			 Data protection 73 
			 Freedom of Information 155 
		
	
	This information has been provided by the ICO.

Information Commissioner: Complaints

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints the Office of the Information Commissioner has  (a) received and  (b) responded to in the last 24 months.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following table shows the number of data protection and freedom of information complaints received and finished by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for the period 1 November 2008 to 31 October 2010.
	
		
			   Data protection  Freedom of information 
			 Casework received 62,560 7,540 
			 Casework finished 62,616 7,872 
		
	
	This information has been provided by the ICO.

Information Commissioner: Training

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which training programmes in  (a) information and communication technologies and  (b) the internet staff of the Office of the Information Commissioner have attended in the last 24 months; how many staff attended each such course; and what accreditation they received in each case.

Jonathan Djanogly: In the last 24 months staff at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) have attended the following courses:
	
		
			  Course title  Accredited  Number of delegates 
			 Digital Identity Briefing No 23 
			 Core skills in data recovery and analysis National Policing Improvement Agency 2 
			 Internet data-RIPA or open source No 10 
			 Internet and Computer Related Crime No 1 
		
	
	Staff have attended the following courses related to the internet, but focused on the use of the ICO's own website:
	
		
			  Course title  Accredited  Number of delegates 
			 Google analytics workshop No 1 
			 Optimising your site using Google analytics No 1 
			 Google analytics interpretation No 2 
		
	
	This information has been provided by the ICO.

Judges: Documents

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that judges have access to all relevant documents;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received from Immigration Judges on access to copies of appellants' records of convictions.

Jonathan Djanogly: My officials have recently received a number of representations from members of the judiciary that the United Kingdom Border Agency is not always providing copies of appellants' records of convictions and other relevant documents for immigration and asylum appeals. The Tribunals Service will ensure that these issues are addressed as part of its regular liaison arrangement with the judiciary and the United Kingdom Border Agency considering what more could be done to ensure that the relevant documentation is provided by the respondent.

Prisoners' Release

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether he plans to review the automatic release point for persons sentenced to determinate prison sentences;
	(2)  whether he plans to review the powers of courts to impose extended supervision in cases where individuals are sentenced to determinate prison sentences.

Crispin Blunt: We are conducting an assessment of sentencing policy to ensure that it is effective in deterring crime, protecting the public, punishing offenders and cutting re-offending. That assessment includes consideration of the release and supervision of offenders serving determinate sentences. We will publish proposals for consultation in a Green Paper on sentencing and rehabilitation in December.

Prisoners: Heroin

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) drug caches including heroin,  (b) needles used for drug taking,  (c) prisoners testing positive for heroin use and  (d) prisoners who on a first test did not test positive for heroin use but subsequently tested positive for such use were detected in each prison in the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: NOMS records centrally the number of drugs and drug-taking paraphernalia seized in prisons but this cannot be disaggregated to provide the number of  (a) drug caches, including heroin and  (b) needles used for drug taking seized in each prison in the last 10 years without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Data relating to  (d) how many prisoners who on a first test did not test positive for heroin use but subsequently tested positive for such use are not available.
	The data for how many samples tested positive for opiate use, including heroin, under the prison mandatory drug testing programme in each prison in the last 10 financial years are shown in the following table. To disaggregate the data to show those samples positive for heroin from those positive for other opiates would require a detailed investigation of every prison's locally held records, which would be at disproportionate cost.
	The figures contained in the table have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing data, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit. A space indicates that there was no testing in that period at that establishment.
	
		
			  Positive drug tests due to opiates across the prison estate from 2000 to 2010 
			  Financial year  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Acklington 76 80 28 25 39 41 28 24 29 25 
			 Albany 1 2 0 10 5 6 17 13 18 20 
			 Altcourse 76 120 92 75 88 74 127 231 154 122 
			 Ashfield 29 31 10 10 3 3 12 7 0 4 
			 Ashwell 99 31 20 21 39 39 25 15 30 11 
			 Askham Grange 13 20 6 0 15 9 13 9 3 6 
			 Aylesbury 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bedford 55 57 19 25 25 40 75 44 28 26 
			 Belmarsh 102 91 68 22 35 24 38 33 25 21 
			 Birmingham 273 96 29 141 172 124 203 121 94 91 
			 Blakenhurst 305 216 396 214 287 378 245 237 - - 
			 Blantyre House 1 4 6 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 
			 Blundeston 16 34 21 10 17 27 21 29 26 28 
			 Brinsford 14 15 16 5 3 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Bristol 40 41 25 18 52 26 44 57 56 48 
			 Brixton 116 77 51 36 32 52 53 42 80 97 
			 Brockhill 27 15 22 19 25 29 18 15 - - 
			 Bronzefield - - - - 26 28 33 18 8 13 
			 Buckley Hall 72 57 30 33 33 21 86 139 57 27 
			 Bullingdon 82 75 24 59 59 94 86 131 90 136 
			 Bullwood Hall 25 16 24 1 3 1 1 0 0 1 
			 Bure - - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Camp Hill 88 60 17 17 27 20 25 29 43 31 
			 Canterbury 66 55 47 26 17 43 21 1 2 0 
			 Cardiff 55 45 32 42 33 60 99 101 48 48 
			 Castington 3 6 7 3 3 5 2 0 2 0 
			 Channings Wood 39 53 4 5 23 11 33 50 67 73 
			 Chelmsford 23 38 13 12 37 44 35 39 34 22 
			 Coldingley 18 25 25 18 44 46 42 44 53 70 
			 Cookham Wood 23 7 9 2 15 12 13 2 0 0 
			 Dartmoor 23 50 53 26 41 24 51 78 81 40 
			 Deerbolt 9 8 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Doncaster 224 318 177 222 154 144 236 133 63 72 
			 Dorchester 24 28 13 22 15 21 29 23 2 13 
			 Dovegate - 57 70 74 84 120 139 185 103 80 
			 Dover 2 0 - - - - - - - - 
			 Downview 32 10 38 20 32 23 5 22 37 18 
			 Drake Hall 11 31 21 10 26 13 33 23 7 12 
			 Durham 110 80 38 20 20 34 41 57 43 44 
			 East Sutton Park 8 11 0 6 3 7 0 2 4 2 
			 Eastwood Park 60 15 6 25 21 37 47 38 34 23 
			 Edmonds Hill - - - 16 17 14 13 22 25 32 
			 Elmley 192 136 79 37 75 55 74 158 162 122 
			 Erlestoke 35 30 18 18 28 35 32 45 54 37 
			 Everthorpe 98 91 39 33 40 41 103 97 50 34 
			 Exeter 35 39 10 12 12 18 17 17 18 10 
			 Featherstone 102 65 39 19 38 59 101 224 86 63 
			 Feltham 2 4 1 0 2 5 8 3 2 5 
			 Ford 21 24 38 32 29 63 64 74 30 31 
			 Forest Bank 199 213 138 177 261 349 360 363 200 155 
			 Foston Hall 89 35 5 9 29 25 22 19 8 19 
			 Frankland 56 61 34 25 38 23 31 61 33 50 
			 Full Sutton 48 60 29 28 34 20 39 48 37 30 
			 Garth 99 85 29 18 48 88 74 76 97 81 
			 Gartree 26 12 6 16 15 14 29 23 12 25 
			 Glen Parva 78 50 13 3 6 4 1 4 1 2 
			 Gloucester 25 18 33 11 30 20 29 50 23 20 
			 Grendon 1 5 3 11 6 8 10 5 2 4 
			 Guys Marsh 37 23 25 28 30 25 45 62 83 98 
			 Haslar 3 0 0 - - - - - - - 
			 Haverigg 50 72 44 18 50 77 63 106 152 83 
			 Hewell - - - - - - - - 115 59 
			 Hewell Grange 18 4 7 17 19 19 8 6 - - 
			 High Down 208 77 42 44 65 59 23 31 31 65 
			 Highpoint 55 63 42 22 38 50 104 76 77 28 
			 Hindley 3 8 2 3 2 3 4 5 2 9 
			 Hollesley Bay 14 5 10 13 9 17 9 14 27 16 
			 Holloway 38 25 13 11 16 25 33 15 23 32 
			 Holme House 116 77 59 71 50 31 48 80 50 61 
			 Hull 51 43 35 19 48 52 27 34 15 6 
			 Huntercombe 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Kennet - - - - - - - 31 29 21 
			 Kingston 9 16 8 7 15 18 26 23 12 10 
			 Kirkham 47 47 48 70 46 41 65 51 44 23 
			 Kirklevington 7 5 5 0 18 3 7 7 6 7 
			 Lancaster 46 71 66 20 30 14 29 43 27 20 
			 Lancaster Farms 2 3 2 4 4 1 1 1 1 0 
			 Latchmere House 13 0 2 5 3 3 3 2 2 1 
			 Leeds 159 126 97 117 123 70 50 61 56 61 
			 Leicester 58 39 13 16 23 15 23 14 15 23 
			 Lewes 116 92 25 45 59 63 101 130 98 73 
			 Leyhill 72 97 69 114 100 63 52 56 51 37 
			 Lincoln 89 61 24 39 94 58 27 51 48 37 
			 Lindholme 77 52 75 30 49 35 52 83 40 35 
			 Littlehey 49 25 11 14 15 11 16 24 20 18 
			 Liverpool 309 228 207 245 368 374 216 220 144 84 
			 Long Lartin 116 125 90 73 64 76 77 82 44 32 
			 Low Newton 79 58 29 16 31 40 12 16 9 6 
			 Lowdham Grange 58 68 28 25 36 55 59 79 60 49 
			 Maidstone 22 27 23 37 32 58 40 52 37 9 
			 Manchester 249 243 214 190 153 161 102 126 104 160 
			 Moorland 30 38 29 23 34 20 31 43 18 3 
			 Moorland Open 6 10 3 11 16 32 7 6 3 5 
			 Morton Hall 5 23 10 12 6 7 9 3 2 4 
			 Mount 47 55 63 24 52 181 185 117 86 61 
			 New Hall 44 32 12 16 36 28 21 21 8 21 
			 North Sea Camp 20 26 18 44 30 36 30 8 8 12 
			 Northallerton 8 6 6 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Norwich 67 53 27 22 37 30 28 16 18 29 
			 Nottingham 86 56 39 33 25 63 79 106 55 28 
			 Onley 2 0 3 0 15 32 45 45 19 12 
			 Parc 19 4 12 26 14 18 18 23 18 65 
			 Parkhurst 57 34 37 30 21 37 25 26 27 15 
			 Pentonville 103 173 85 53 92 115 105 130 109 100 
			 Peterborough Female - - - - - 52 48 31 31 19 
			 Peterborough Male - - - - - 55 133 178 90 113 
			 Portland 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Preston 110 69 35 35 93 115 95 84 69 50 
			 Ranby 82 64 62 40 43 50 108 198 83 56 
			 Reading 2 4 2 0 3 2 1 3 0 0 
			 Risley 155 165 190 149 194 163 105 88 80 60 
			 Rochester 9 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Rye Hill 1 89 19 27 28 27 57 42 34 33 
			 Send 12 14 4 5 15 3 14 23 13 5 
			 Shepton Mallet 26 17 17 2 4 2 0 6 5 2 
			 Shrewsbury 80 42 68 64 67 38 62 42 50 29 
			 Spring Hill 13 9 7 9 20 33 15 16 18 10 
			 Stafford 162 140 84 69 78 134 141 110 43 26 
			 Standford Hill 23 38 28 23 31 46 70 24 23 16 
			 Stocken 107 84 15 10 21 23 37 54 21 28 
			 Stoke Heath 4 0 2 2 1 4 2 3 1 1 
			 Styal 70 90 36 39 83 141 202 96 44 50 
			 Sudbury 89 117 91 108 128 86 70 112 65 69 
			 Swaleside 121 99 33 47 109 63 56 118 63 70 
			 Swansea 7 22 20 21 21 12 9 24 22 16 
			 Swinfen Hall 3 1 0 0 7 6 5 2 0 0 
			 Thorn Cross 5 1 4 2 1 1 0 0 2 2 
			 Usk/Prescoed 5 7 8 15 18 24 23 17 13 24 
			 Verne 21 25 4 7 23 10 4 9 10 15 
			 Wakefield 14 3 5 6 8 8 16 29 17 22 
			 Wandsworth 101 108 55 74 86 61 52 49 75 65 
			 Warren Hill - - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wayland 42 57 30 26 13 23 36 33 46 50 
			 Wealstun 112 69 77 29 63 53 53 41 30 14 
			 Weare 44 42 16 7 10 8 - - - - 
			 Wellingborough 129 65 17 11 31 26 31 55 42 43 
			 Wellington 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 3 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Whatton 5 2 2 2 3 3 4 9 9 8 
			 Whitemoor 103 100 48 26 34 24 59 60 37 30 
			 Winchester 72 39 10 27 35 24 20 29 36 68 
			 Wolds 26 26 13 21 18 20 27 36 26 23 
			 Woodhill 40 58 14 25 36 32 60 80 80 86 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 38 30 24 54 73 57 72 44 70 53 
			 Wymott 89 60 26 73 125 156 98 134 92 83

Prisons: Heroin

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were arrested at each prison on suspicion of offences related to bringing heroin into a prison in the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: NOMS does not hold information on the number of people arrested at each prison on suspicion of offences related to bringing heroin into prison.
	NOMS policy is that all persons bringing drugs into prisons should be referred to the police for investigation.

Prisons: Heroin

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations on heroin use in prisons he has received from  (a) the National Treatment Agency and  (b) general practitioners.

Crispin Blunt: Ministry of Justice Ministers have not had any representations from the National Treatment Agency or general practitioners on heroin use in prisons. Ministry of Justice officials are in dialogue with NTA staff and a range of organisations that work with offenders with drug problems to develop a new, recovery focused, approach to getting offenders off drugs.

Terrorism: Detainees

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of proposals at EU level to review the length and conditions of pre-charge detention in member states.

Crispin Blunt: A Green Paper on pre-trial detention is likely to be published by the European Commission. The Government will make an assessment of any subsequent proposal as and when it is published.

EDUCATION

Apprentices: Insolvency

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what mechanisms are in place to assist young people on apprenticeships to companies which become insolvent to complete their apprenticeships.

John Hayes: I have been asked to reply.
	We have developed flexibilities to help apprentices who are made redundant or at risk of being made redundant. These apprentices are helped to find a new employer by their training provider, or moved into college to allow them to complete their apprenticeship. Redundant apprentices can continue their training within a provider setting for up to six months while they and their provider look for an alternative employer.
	If a redundant apprentice is close to completing their framework and has evidence of the relevant employer experience, we expect providers, sector skills councils and awarding bodies to be considerate in their individual circumstances in order to support them in completing their course of study. Apprenticeship vacancies also gives redundant apprentices online access to vacancies in their area and information to help deal with apprentice, employer and training provider concerns.

British Educational Communications and Technology Agency: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to consult employees of  (a) Becta and  (b) the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Authority in Coventry over the planned closure of each body.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 27 July 2010
	Bringing Educational Creativity to All is a strand of work by the Government's Educational Technology Agency, BECTA, so it does not have any allocated employees itself. The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), which are both based in Coventry, are planned to close.
	The Department is working closely with the management teams of both agencies to ensure that staff are consulted and provided with all the support that they need as the agencies move towards closure. Staff development programmes are being delivered that will support advice and counselling, job search, career planning, and CV writing and interview skills.
	Both agencies are consulting the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, the recognised trade union, and all staff, about the risk of redundancy.

Kelsey Park Sports College

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with  (a) the London Borough of Bromley Education Authority and  (b) other parties on the future of Kelsey Park Sports College, Beckenham since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State received a petition in September containing 750 signatures from a parents' group in Beckenham, informing him that they are keen for Kelsey Park sports college to benefit from the support offered by the Harris Federation. He has written to Bromley local authority in support of the campaign by local parents for the Harris Federation to become the sponsor of Kelsey Park sports college. The Harris Federation has an outstanding track record on improvement and is seen by local parents to be best placed to support the schools.

Literacy: Primary Education

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish each item of research commissioned by his Department into the efficacy of its Every Child a Reader programme.

Nick Gibb: The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of Every Child a Reader which is due to be completed in early 2011.
	The final evaluation report for the programme will be made publicly available and copies will be placed in the House Libraries.

Literacy: Primary Education

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent evaluation he has made of the performance of the Every Child a Reader programme against its objectives.

Nick Gibb: We regularly evaluate the progress of the Every Child a Reader (ECaR) programme against a range of management information. However, the programme is currently undergoing an independent evaluation, to report in early 2011, which will give a substantive view of the impact of the programme.

Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce the date on which the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency will close; and which of the agency's functions he proposes to incorporate into his Department.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State announced on 27 May 2010 that he would abolish the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA). He also confirmed that certain of the QCDA's work, notably the delivery of national curriculum tests, will need to continue. The abolition of the QCDA is subject to legislation which we intend to introduce in January 2011. Subject to the will of Parliament, closure would follow soon after Royal Assent.
	The Secretary of State announced on the 5 November that he was establishing an executive agency within the Department for Education which would be responsible for statutory assessment and testing for pupils up to 14 (Key Stage 3). I wrote to the chair of the Select Committee on Education to inform him of the new arrangements. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. We will announce further details about the future of any other areas of work that will need to continue beyond the abolition of the QCDA in due course.

Schools: Health Education

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on awareness campaigns in secondary schools on  (a) alcohol or substance abuse,  (b) bullying and  (c) domestic violence in the last 12 months.

Nick Gibb: In the financial year 2009-10 the Department spent £311,000 on school-based activities as part of the FRANK campaign. FRANK is a multi-media drug and alcohol awareness campaign and helpline. Its key purpose has been to ensure that young people understand the risks and dangers of drugs and know where to go for advice and help. Total departmental expenditure on FRANK in 2009-10 was £1.5 million.
	The Department spent £5.16 million on the Why Let Drink Decide? campaign in 2009-10, through which materials and information were made available to schools and youth services.
	The Department does not have a breakdown of its expenditure on raising awareness of bullying in secondary schools, although it spent £484,024 on general awareness-raising of bullying in the 2009-10 financial year and up to the end of September 2010.
	The Department has provided no funding for awareness campaigns on domestic violence.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Manpower

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the in-country staff turnover rate of his Department was in the last  (a) 12 and  (b) 24 months; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such turnover rates on overseas project outcomes.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not retain central records of the staff turnover rate in individual country offices and has not made a specific assessment of the impact of staff turnover on project outcomes. The majority of DFID staff in-country are locally engaged staff (known as Staff Appointed in Country) who provide a high level of continuity in managing programmes and projects. Around one-third of staff in-country are UK-based Home Civil Servants, who typically serve between one and three years in post before moving to another job. The timing of moves for UK-based staff are carefully managed by heads of country offices in order to minimise the impact on programme outcomes.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 558W, on the Access to Work programme, when he expects to  (a) set programme budgets for the period to 2014-15 and  (b) announce any change to the (i) amounts available and (ii) extent of availability to disabled people under the Access to Work programme.

Maria Miller: Following the spending review settlement we are now scrutinising all aspects of departmental expenditure, to ensure that we deliver the most effective range of services possible at the best value for money. Access to Work will be part of this. Budgets for directly delivered programmes such as Access to Work are subject to in-year review and it is not possible to specify in advance the amounts that will be spent. Information on spend is however available after the end of a financial year.
	In the year 2009-10 the Access to Work programme spent £98 million and helped over 37,000 disabled people to stay in work, and we are on course to help even more disabled people in 2010-11.
	The coalition agreement set out our commitment to Access to Work, including plans to reform the programme so disabled people can apply for jobs with funding already secured for any adaptations and equipment they will need and I expect to make an announcement about this shortly.

Cold Weather Payments: Winter Fuel Payments

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of recipients of  (a) cold weather and  (b) winter fuel payments in (i) Wales, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) England are solely resident in care or residential homes.

Steve Webb: Cold weather payments are not payable to people in the UK who are solely resident in care or residential homes.
	The information requested is not available for winter fuel payments in Great Britain. Information regarding Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office.

Council Tax: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what occasions he has discussed the devolution of council tax rebate with  (a) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities,  (b) local authorities in Scotland and  (c) the Scottish Executive since his appointment.

Steve Webb: No formal discussions have yet taken place with local authorities, the associations representing them, or with the devolved Administrations about the proposal announced in the spending review to localise support for council tax benefit in local authorities in England, Scotland, and Wales. Preliminary discussions have taken place at official level with the Scotland Office and the Government will have discussions with the devolved Administrations as part of the policy development process.

Disability Living Allowance: Medical Examinations

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of appeals against medical assessments for disability living allowance undertaken by each company contracted to perform such assessment for his Department were upheld in the most recent 12-month period for which records are available.

Maria Miller: Around 80% of applications have additional information requested. Some of this is medical assessment. We are unable to say how many and what proportion of successful appeals there were against medical assessments for disability living allowance (DLA). DLA appeals can be made against all decisions and the management information systems of the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) and the Tribunal Service do not go to the level of detail that would identify those appeals specifically related to medical assessments.
	Only one company is contracted to provide medical assessments for disability living allowance for the Department. Atos Healthcare was awarded the contract commencing September 2005 following open competitive tender for a period of up to 12 years.
	 Note:
	The figure for applications is for the 2009-10 financial year.
	 Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions-2009-10 RDA60205/60209 report-DLA Management Information Statistics.

Employment Schemes

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on Government assistance for organisations which seek to increase employment opportunities for  (a) disabled people and  (b) others who experience complex barriers to employment; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Department is committed to working with organisations which seek to increase employment opportunities for disabled people and others who experience complex barriers to employment to improve the job outcomes of people who are seeking to enter and remain in work.
	To this end, we will introduce the Work Programme which will be an integrated package of support providing personalised help to a broad range of individuals, including those who may previously have been receiving incapacity benefits for many years. We will offer providers differentiated levels of payment for supporting harder customers into work that reflect levels of support to ensure it is worthwhile for providers to offer different customer groups appropriate support. We aim to have the Work Programme in place nationally by the summer of 2011.
	As of 25 October 25 2010 we launched Work Choice, a new pan-disability supported employment programme for disabled people, which provides tailored support and targets those customers who face the most complex barriers in reaching or retaining employment, including self-employment. Under a new funding model in which prime providers work closely with their subcontractors, individuals get early, quality support that helps them progress at work and, where it is appropriate for the individual, helps them move into sustainable long-term employment.

Funeral Payments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims have been made for a funeral payment in the last five years.

Steve Webb: The information requested is given in the table.
	
		
			  Funeral payment claims received in Great Britain 
			  Financial year  Number 
			 2005-06 67,700 
			 2006-07 67,100 
			 2007-08 65,000 
			 2008-09 68,600 
			 2009-10 67,600 
			  Notes:  1. The information provided is management information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using official/National Statistics but in this case we only have management information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as official/National Statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, numbers of funeral payment claims do not include claims which were processed clerically and had not been entered on to the social fund computer system by the end of the relevant financial year.  2. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100.   Source:  Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

Funeral Payments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for a funeral payment have been  (a) rejected and  (b) accepted in the last five years.

Steve Webb: The available information is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Funeral payments in Great Britain 
			  Financial year  Number of initial refusals  Number of awards 
			 2005-06 27,300 42,000 
			 2006-07 27,700 41,200 
			 2007-08 27,500 39,500 
			 2008-09 31,700 40,500 
			 2009-10 32,600 39,000 
			  Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, numbers given do not include claims which were processed clerically and had not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System by the end of the relevant financial year. 2. The number of awards includes those made after re-consideration or appeal. 3. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Funeral Payments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of recipients of funeral payments where that payment did not meet the full cost of the funeral for which the payment was made in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: In April to October 2010, in Great Britain, the number of Funeral Payment initial awards which did not meet the full cost of the funeral for which the payment was made was 17,100.
	 Notes:
	1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, the number given does not take into account claims which were processed clerically and had not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System by the end of October 2010.
	2. A Funeral Payment covers the necessary cost of specified expenses (mainly burial or cremation costs) plus up to £700 for non-specified expenses. Deductions are made for money immediately available (apart from the claimant's own savings).
	3. The number is for initial decisions and does not include the impact of re-considerations or appeals.
	4. The number has been rounded to the nearest 100.
	 Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Funeral Payments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of the level of funeral payments in order to meet the basic cost of a funeral.

Steve Webb: Funeral payments provide a contribution towards the costs of a simple, respectful, low cost funeral.
	The amount allowable covers the necessary cost of specified items, including burial or cremation fees, plus up to a maximum of £700 for all other funeral expenses. The average funeral payment awarded in 2009-10 was £1,208.
	 Note:
	The figure has been rounded to the nearest £1.
	 Source:
	Annual report by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Social Fund 2009-10

Homelessness

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to review the statutory definition of homelessness.

Grant Shapps: I have been asked to reply.
	There have been problems with the way homelessness has been perceived and measured in the past. That is why the Government made it an early priority to overhaul the way rough sleeping levels are measured, which revealed figures that are almost three times higher than previously reported. We are committed to maintaining a robust homelessness safety net, and will keep the current framework under review to ensure that local housing authorities in England have sufficient flexibility to meet housing need in the most effective way.

Housing Benefit

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the Social Security Advisory Committee to report on the proposed changes in housing benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: We have received the Social Security Advisory Committee's report on the proposed changes to housing benefit in 2011 and are considering our response. We will publish a Command Paper shortly.

Housing Benefit

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the findings were of the equalities impact assessment on the proposed changes to housing benefit; and how many recipients of housing benefit are  (a) black or ethnic minority people,  (b) single mothers with children,  (c) working mothers with children and  (d) two parent families with children.

Steve Webb: The Department published a document on "Impacts of Housing Benefit proposals: Changes to the Local Housing Allowance to be introduced in 2011-12" and a separate equality impact assessment on the 23 July. A copy of the documents has been placed in the Library.
	 (a) The following table shows the distribution of benefit units in receipt of housing benefit by ethnicity of the head of the benefit unit:
	
		
			  Ethnic group, head of benefit unit  Percentage of benefit units 
			 White 89 
			 Mixed 1 
			 Asian or Asian British 2 
			 Black or Black British 5 
			 Other (including Chinese) 2 
			  Source:  2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09 Family Resources Survey, United Kingdom. 
		
	
	As at July 2010, our records show that there were:
	 (b) 1,031,120 recipients of housing benefit who were single mothers with children;
	 (c) 255,470 recipients of housing benefit who were single working mothers with children;
	 (d) 484,560 recipients of housing benefit that were two-parent families with children.
	 Notes:
	1. The Single Housing Benefit Extract does not collect robust information on ethnicity to enable a reliable breakdown.
	2. Data for 2008-09 Family Resources Survey were collected between April 2008 and March 2009.
	3. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 25,000 UK households.
	4. The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record benefit receipt so the estimates presented should be treated with caution.
	5. The figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to Government office region population by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
	6. Figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
	 Source:
	Single Housing Benefit Extract for July 2010. Figures rounded to the nearest ten recipients.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much in housing benefit has been paid to individuals in  (a) Wimbledon constituency and  (b) the London Borough of Merton in each year since 1996-97;
	(2)  how much was paid in housing benefit to individuals in  (a) Wimbledon constituency and  (b) the London Borough of Merton for a (i) one bedroom, (ii) two bedroom, (iii) three bedroom and (iv) four bedroom property in each year since 1996-97.

Steve Webb: Housing benefit expenditure data by parliamentary constituency and number of bedrooms are not available. The available information is shown in the following table.
	Benefit expenditure data can also be found at the following URL:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page= hbandctb_expenditure
	
		
			  Housing benefit expenditure London borough of Merton 
			   £ million (nominal terms) 
			 1996-97 41.6 
			 1997-98 38.3 
			 1998-99 36.5 
			 1999-2000 36.2 
			 2000-01 34.9 
			 2001-02 35.0 
			 2002-03 38.7 
			 2003-04 41.4 
			 2004-05 45.4 
			 2005-06 49.4 
			 2006-07 52.3 
			 2007-08 56.6 
			 2008-09 61.5 
			 2009-10 71.9 
			  Source: Local Authority Subsidy Returns Housing Benefit expenditure tables can be found at the following URL: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=hbandctb_expenditure

Nanotechnology: Safety

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the adequacy of measures to protect water supplies from contamination with nano-silver.

Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
	The Drinking Water Inspectorate has commissioned research to understand the extent of any potential risk to drinking water posed by nano particles, including nano silver, and the pathways nano particles could take. This study complements one commissioned by DEFRA, looking at nano silver in sewage effluents, to provide robust values on the discharge of colloidal silver in sewage effluent for the purposes of river catchment risk modelling. The Drinking Water Inspectorate's research findings will inform the regulatory risk assessments and raw water monitoring undertaken by water companies for each individual drinking water supply.

Private Rented Housing

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of families with children that are likely to be affected by the implementation of proposals to allow social housing providers to charge up to 80 per cent. of market rent.

Grant Shapps: I have been asked to reply.
	We will publish more detail on the implementation of new 'affordable rent' tenure shortly. This scheme is intended to increase the chance for those on housing waiting lists to have access to affordable housing. Moreover, existing social tenants will retain their existing rights and tenure. Families with children have been poorly served by a system which saw the number of households languishing on the waiting lists nearly double.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of redundancy and other payments made by public sector organisations in respect of redundancies of  (a) 100 or more,  (b) 250 or more and  (c) 500 or more employees.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	The costs of redundancies vary according to the scheme applicable to that work force, depending on factors such as length of tenure, salary and type of exit. It is for individual employers to determine their costs on this basis and according to their budgets.

Winter Fuel Payments: Older People

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged  (a) 60 to 64,  (b) 65 to 69,  (c) 70 to 79 and  (d) 80 years or over in Mid Sussex constituency were in receipt of winter fuel allowance in each year since 2005.

Steve Webb: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Winter fuel allowance 
			  Recipients 
			  Age  2009-10  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06 
			 Mid Sussex parliamentary constituency 23,020 22,520 21,850 20,990 20,320 
			   
			 Under 60 10 - 10 - n/a 
			 60-64 6,200 6,160 5,900 5,360 n/a 
			 65-69 4,730 4,370 4,160 3,990 n/a 
			 70-79 7,010 7,000 6,900 6.850 n/a 
			 80 and over 5,080 4,990 4,890 4,790 n/a 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore totals may not sum. 2. '-' denotes nil or negligible. 3. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2005. 4. DWP are currently working to produce 2009-10 winter fuel payment figures for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. 5. The 'under 60' category contains cases where an income support/job seeker's allowance claimant receives a payment on behalf of their partner who is aged 60 or over. 6. The age breakdown for 2005-06 winter fuel payments shows a larger than expected number of recipients aged under 60 compared with subsequent years. The age breakdown has been withdrawn while the figures are investigated.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 percent data.

CABINET OFFICE

Arts

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many jobs are dependent on the digital arts industry; in which geographical areas those jobs are concentrated; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2020:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the number of jobs in the UK dependent on the digital arts industry (23803).
	The requested information is not available.

Civil Servants: Conservative Party

David Winnick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the  (a) name and  (b) post is of each civil servant paid from the public purse who was employed by the Conservative Party in May 2010.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the letter the Cabinet Secretary sent to the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Michael Dugher) on 10 November 2010. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Civil Servants: East Ayrshire

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent consideration his Department has given to relocating civil service jobs to  (a) East Ayrshire and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: As at end March 2010, 1,127 civil service posts had been relocated to Scotland, although none of these went to East Ayrshire or the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. There are currently no plans to relocate further posts. However the Government are committed to achieving efficiency savings through further rationalisation and reduction of Government's presence in London and elsewhere, and this could lead to further posts being relocated.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Julian Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to improve its level of compliance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Francis Maude: holding answer 13 October 2010
	The Department aims to deal with FOI cases in accordance with the provisions of the legislation. It is taking a number of steps to improve its performance. For example, further training for members of staff handling FOI requests.

Departmental Policy

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what departmental policy reviews his Department has undertaken since 6 May 2010; on what date each such review  (a) was announced and  (b) is expected to publish its findings; what estimate he has made of the cost of each such review; who has been appointed to lead each such review; to what remuneration each review leader is entitled; how many (i) full-time equivalent civil servants and (ii) seconded staff are working on each such review; from which organisations such staff have been seconded; and how much on average such seconded staff will be paid for their work on the review.

Francis Maude: The following independent reviews have been undertaken since 6 May and are based in the Cabinet Office:
	 Review on Poverty and Life Chances
	 (a) The Prime Minister announced the review on 5 June 2010.
	 (b) The final report will be delivered in mid-December and the anticipated cost is in the order of £20,000, excluding civil service salaries. The review is led by Frank Field MP who does not receive any remuneration for this role but is entitled to reasonable travel expenses.
	 (i) The team consists of five full-time and two part-time civil servants.
	 (ii) All staff have been loaned from home Departments. None are seconded from outside Whitehall.
	 Review on Early Intervention Delivery
	 (a) The review was announced on 28 July 2010 by the Work and Pensions Secretary.
	 (b) The review will report to the Government's Social Justice Cabinet Committee in two stages: (i) in January 2011 on models of best practice around early intervention; and (ii) by May 2011 on new ways to fund early intervention. In addition to staff costs, the anticipated cost of the review is expected to be less than £50,000. The review is led by Graham Allen MP who is not being paid for his time but will be entitled to reasonable travel expenses.
	 (i) The team consists of five full-time and one part-time civil servant.
	 (ii) All staff have been loaned from home Departments. None are seconded from outside Whitehall although staff costs are expected to include £36,600 to be used on expert advice from the WAVE Trust and the Social Research Unit in Dartington.

Emergencies: Weather

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what mechanisms his Department has put in place in respect of winter emergency planning.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office has well established business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements in place. These arrangements ensure that the Department can continue to function effectively and ensure that its core business is sustained in response to any event that poses a threat to its ability to deliver its services.
	These plans are regularly reviewed, tested and if necessary amended to ensure that they remain up to date and comprehensive.
	In addition, the Cabinet Office works with other Departments to ensure that arrangements are in place, nationally and locally, to respond to a wide range of potential challenges, including winter disruption.

Futurebuilders Fund

David Blunkett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what arrangements are in place to ensure that payments for schemes under the Futurebuilders programme are available in cases where final invoices are not presented by the end of the financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The Futurebuilders programme is managed by the Social Investment Business under contract to the Cabinet Office. All Futurebuilders investees have been advised by the Social Investment Business that all funding must be drawn down by 31 March 2011.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the proportion of Government contracts to be awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in each year of the comprehensive spending review period.

Francis Maude: The coalition Government has set an aspiration that 25% of contracts should be awarded to SMEs. There are no plans at this stage to change this aspiration.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office from what date Government Departments will be required to publish figures on the number of procurement contracts awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: The previous Government did not keep data on the total SME spend in Government. We are in the process of collecting this data and all new contracts over £10,000 will be published from January 2011.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to require Departments to publish their plans for increasing the proportion of Government contracts to be awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: We intend to agree actions with individual Departments once baseline figures for SMEs in procurement are published later this month. Departments will be responsible for publishing their plans.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many different pre-qualification questionnaires are used in Government Departments.

Francis Maude: This information is not held centrally. However, we are aware that pre-qualification questionnaires vary significantly between organisations. We are simplifying and standardising a single set of pre-qualification questions, which will be mandated for use in central Government.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what timetable he has set for the adoption of a simplified, standardised pre-qualification questionnaire for contractors seeking contracts with all Government Departments.

Francis Maude: The standardised pre-qualification questionnaire will be mandated on 1 December to central Government Departments including Departments, their agents and agencies and all non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what timetable his Department has set for its  (a) consideration of and  (b) decision on the method for rolling out simplified and standardised pre-qualification questionnaires to (i) local authorities, (ii) the NHS and (iii) other public sector bodies.

Francis Maude: The standardised pre-qualification questionnaire will not be mandated to local authorities, the NHS or other public sector bodies outside central Government. However, the core questions will be made available for any public sector body to use, and we will encourage authorities across the wider public sector to adopt this standard.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how frequently he expects Government Departments to publish figures on the proportion of procurement contracts awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: We will be asking Departments, when they award a contract, to make transparent whether it has gone to an SME, in line with our commitment to publish contract details from January 2011. This information will be available for public scrutiny alongside other Government datasets.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what timetable he has set for the Government to meet its aspiration to award 25 per cent. of Government contracts to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: On 1 November we announced a package of measures to move us further towards meeting the aspiration to award 25% of Government contracts to SMEs. Work on this package of measures began immediately.
	We intend to agree actions with individual departments once baseline figures for SMEs in procurement are published later this month.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which aspects of existing pre-qualification procedures adversely affecting small and medium-sized enterprises are to be addressed through the introduction of a simplified and standardised pre-qualification questionnaire.

Francis Maude: Excessive bureaucracy and a lack of standardisation of pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) are among the obstacles to securing government business most cited by small and medium-sized enterprises. In simplifying the PQQ we are stripping out questions that inadvertently discriminate against SMEs, eg levels of insurance or financial data; and removing those questions that have become redundant.
	The simplified set of standard core questions will enable a streamlined and consistent approach to pre-qualification across central Government.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has assessed the merits of changing the  (a) terms and  (b) size of contracts offered by Government Departments in order to meet the aspiration of awarding 25% of such contracts to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister has appointed Lord Young of Graffham as his Adviser on Enterprise, to identify ways in which government can remove barriers to growth faced by SMEs, and to maximise ways in which Government Departments and the public sector can support SME growth through reforming Government procurement. Work is ongoing to make procurement faster and cheaper to open it up to more SMEs.

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the Royal National Lifeboat Institution is eligible to receive funding from  (a) the Big Society Bank and  (b) the Transition Fund for the voluntary sector.

Nick Hurd: The Big Society Bank will not deal directly with frontline organisations. Instead it will operate at a wholesale level through social investment intermediaries to catalyse growth in the social investment market, encouraging mainstream investors to invest in social enterprises and broadening the finance options open to the sector. This means it may indirectly invest in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
	The Transition Fund will give organisations the breathing space they need to adjust to the new spending environment. It is a chance to review the ways they are working and prepare for a future where there will be more opportunities to engage in the Big Society agenda. The Fund will be delivered by the BIG Fund, the non Lottery funding operation of the Big Lottery Fund, and will be open to organisations with an income of between £50,000 and £10 million who are most vulnerable to short-term reductions in public spending. Detailed eligibility criteria will be available shortly and we expect applications to open at the end of this month.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Corruption

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to combat corruption in Afghanistan at  (a) local and  (b) national level.

Alistair Burt: The UK is working closely with the Government of Afghanistan to support their efforts to tackle corruption.
	At the national level, the UK provides direct support to the Major Crimes Task Force and the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office in the Attorney-General's Office. In addition, we have played a supporting role in developing other Afghan structures designed to tackle corruption-including the Independent High Office of Oversight-and have been working with the Afghan Government to establish a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee to oversee anti-corruption efforts. We are also working with the World Bank and IMF to strengthen Afghanistan's public financial management and with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), and are involved in projects to strengthen accountability of the police, build civil society and make delivery of Government services more transparent.
	At the local level in Helmand, we are mentoring and supporting justice officials and tracking cases, in order to limit opportunities for corruption in the justice sector.

Departmental NDPBs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reviews of its non-departmental public bodies his Department plans to undertake in the next three years.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly reviews the performance of its non-departmental public bodies. The formal timetable for reviews over the next three years, announced by the Cabinet Office, has not yet been agreed.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on recent attempts to pass a letter to Gilad Shalit via the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Alistair Burt: We have called repeatedly for the release of Gilad Shalit and will continue to do so, and the international community will continue to work towards that end. We are aware of media reports on the specific issue highlighted but do not have further information.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to  (a) the Israeli Government and  (b) the US Administration on the need for negotiations with the Palestinians for the purposes of securing a peace settlement; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: During my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's visit to the region on 2 to 4 November, he emphasised to both the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers the need to persist with direct negotiations and the risk that the window would otherwise close on a two state solution. He underlined to the Government of Israel the need to announce a new moratorium on settlements so that talks can continue. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discusses these issues regularly with Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell.

Nigeria: Christianity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent representations his Department has made to the government of Nigeria on the situation of Christians in Jos Province;
	(2)  what recent reports he has received on the incidence of discrimination against Christians in Jos Province, Nigeria.

Henry Bellingham: Staff from our high commission in Abuja and the Department For International Development have regular discussions with political, religious and traditional leaders, both Christian and Muslim, in the city of Jos in Plateau State. Our assessment is that both communities in Jos have suffered discrimination in various ways, and appalling loss of life in inter-communal violence this year. We continue to believe that this conflict has a religious element but is being driven by underlying social, political and economic factors.
	I raised inter-communal violence with Vice President Namadi Sambo on 21 October. Our high commission has met the Christian State Governor, Jonah Jang, and also discussed these issues with Chief Solomon Lar, head of the Presidential Committee on the Jos Crisis, on 21 September. We encourage the Government of Nigeria to consider the implementation of the Presidential Committee's recommendations in accordance with the views of all parties in Plateau State.

Occupied Territories: Housing

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his  (a) Israeli and  (b) Palestinian counterparts on the Israeli government's plans for new settler homes in East Jerusalem; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We are extremely disappointed by the decision of the Israeli Government to issue tenders for the construction of further settlements in east Jerusalem. This is not helpful.
	As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear during his recent visit to the region, settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are an obstacle to peace. Their construction should stop.

Official Visits: Diplomatic Immunity

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Ministers of foreign governments have immunity from arrest during visits to the UK.

Henry Bellingham: Whether a visiting Minister of a foreign government is entitled to immunity from arrest in the UK will depend on the status of the person concerned, whether they are travelling on official government business, as well as on other considerations. By virtue of their office, immunities will attach to visiting Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers of Foreign Affairs, as well as, by extension, other Ministers who travel by virtue of their office. The extent to which such immunities may attach to other visiting senior officials will fall to be determined case by case depending on their status and the reasons for their visit to the UK.

Yemen: Politics and Government

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Northern Yemen; and what his foreign policy objectives are for Northern Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The February 2010 ceasefire holds in Northern Yemen, despite low-level skirmishing.
	We are concerned about the lack of an agreed political settlement and support the Qatari-led mediation efforts.
	We encourage all sides to facilitate humanitarian access to those Yemenis who have been internally displaced.
	We support a peaceful, prosperous and unified Yemen.

Yemen: Terrorism

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to take steps to assist the government of Yemen to strengthen its capabilities against militants.

Alistair Burt: We are concerned about the terrorist threat in the Arabian Peninsula.
	We are helping the Yemeni Government build its capability to disrupt Al Qaeda and to tackle the underlying grievances which fuel conflict.
	Terrorism and conflict are challenges which the Yemeni Government must address. We continue to support them in their efforts.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment his Department has made of alternative strategies for the campaign in Afghanistan other than  (a) war among the people and  (b) total military withdrawal.

Liam Fox: holding answer 4 November 2010
	None. NATO's strategy in Afghanistan is the product of considerable discussion and seeks to bring about a more secure Afghanistan. The international community and Afghans are protecting the civilian population from the insurgents, building up the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces, transferring security responsibility for districts and provinces to Afghan control once they are ready, and supporting a more effective Afghan government.
	The international community is united in backing the mission and, as the Kabul conference has shown, we share a clear, realistic and achievable strategy and we are seeing progress.

Aircraft Carriers

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Rafale aircraft the new aircraft carriers will be able to accommodate.

Peter Luff: The Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers have been designed with the capacity to deploy up to 36 Joint Strike Fighters. The number of Rafale aircraft that they could accommodate will depend on their support requirements under different planning assumptions which we are now evaluating.

Anti-submarine Warfare

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times air assets of allied nations have been used in anti-submarine operations in UK waters in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 9 November 2010
	None.

Armed Forces: Kent

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of residents of Maidstone and the Weald constituency serving in the armed forces; and how many of those are under the age of 21.

Andrew Robathan: Residential address information for serving personnel is not held with reference to parliamentary constituency and there are questions over the accuracy and completeness of what is held, as the information is maintained by the individual Service person.
	Further information on the stationed location of UK Regular Forces is published quarterly by the Ministry of Defence and can be found at the following website:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=0&thiscontent=100&Publish Time=09:30:00&date=2010-08-26&disText=01%20Jul% 202010&from=listing&topDate=2010-08-26
	I will place a copy of the publication in the Library of the House.

Astute Class Submarines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how far HMS Astute was from the area normally used for personnel transfers when the submarine grounded on 22 October 2010;
	(2)  when he expects the Board of Inquiry report into the grounding of HMS Astute to be published;
	(3)  whether, following the grounding of HMS Astute on 22 October 2010, the reactor on the submarine was shut down automatically or manually;
	(4)  what role the Naval Emergency Monitoring Team (North) played in the response to the grounding of HMS Astute on 22 October 2010;
	(5)  what use HMS Astute made of the  (a) operational berth in Loch Ewe and  (b) the former operational berth in Broadford Bay following the grounding of HMS Astute on 22 October 2010;
	(6)  whether HMS Astute returned to HMNB Faslane after its grounding on 22 October 2010 using diesel power or nuclear power.

Peter Luff: Following the grounding of HMS Astute on 22 August 2010 and in accordance with standard procedures, the Naval Emergency Monitoring Team were mobilised and forward deployed but were not required. The reactor was deliberately shut down as a precautionary measure but once refloated, and following routine checks, a normal reactor start up was carried out to allow the submarine to proceed under her own nuclear power to Faslane. There was no requirement to use the operational berth in Loch Ewe or the former operational berth in Broadford Bay.
	The position of HMS Astute at the time of personnel transfers will be subject to a formal Service Inquiry. The Service Inquiry commenced on 25 October 2010 and will be published once all parallel investigations are complete.

Defence: Industry

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the change in the number of jobs in the UK defence industry consequent on implementation of the proposals in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 November 2010,  Official Report, column 695W, to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department have been  (a) subject to disciplinary action,  (b) removed from post,  (c) transferred to another position and (d) dismissed for matters relating to their (i) disciplinary record and (ii) performance in each year since 1997.

Andrew Robathan: Prior to April 2007 all cases were managed locally and data are not available. From April 2007 all cases have been centrally recorded. The data, where held, have been grouped by financial year together with relevant additional information.
	 (a) Subject to disciplinary action
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of individuals 
			 2007-08 715 
			 2008-09 865 
			 2009-10 935 
			 2010-11 (to date) 420 
		
	
	 (b) Removed from pos t
	The data relate to individuals who were recorded as downgraded.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of individuals 
			 2007-08 5 
			 2008-09 - 
			 2009-10 - 
			 2010-11 (to date) - 
		
	
	 (c) T ransferred to another position
	The disciplinary process does not permit a transfer to another position as a suitable penalty.
	 (d) Dismissed for matters relating to their disc iplinary record and performance
	
		
			  Financial year  Conduct  Performance 
			 2006-07 60 10 
			 2007-08 50 5 
			 2008-09 60 - 
			 2009-10 55 5 
			 2010-11 (to date) 25 5 
			  Note s: 1. These figures include the Ministry of Defence main employees only. They exclude trading funds, agencies and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. 2. To prevent disclosure numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. 3. '-' denotes 0 or numbers less than five.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each year since 1997; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary value was of the largest 20 payments made in each such year.

Andrew Robathan: The information is as follows:
	Non-consolidated performance awards-MOD: A close and effective link between pay and performance is a key element of the reward arrangements for the civil service. The performance element of pay is colloquially known as a bonus, but it is a misleading description because the performance-related element of pay is not additional, it is part of the departmental pay bill.
	For the senior civil service (SCS) performance incentives are paid primarily as non-consolidated performance payments. Any award is based on a judgment of how well an individual has performed against their peers and awards are made to those judged to have made the greatest in-year contribution to business objectives. There is no restriction on the nature of the contribution but it must benefit the Department or defence more widely. Recommendations for awards are considered by moderation committees and must be linked to clear evidence of delivery.
	All satisfactory performers at SCS level were eligible to be considered for a non-consolidated performance award in line with Cabinet Office guidelines and the MOD pay strategy.
	Financial year 2003-04 was the first year in which the MOD paid non-consolidated performance awards to any of its staff.
	The following table details how much was paid to members of the SCS in non-consolidated performance payments by financial year.
	Senior fixed term employees are individuals who are recruited through fair and open competition from outside the civil service. Those employed as senior fixed term appointees (FTAs) are on individual contracts and have a higher percentage of pay set to performance awards which are judged against stringent and stretching delivery based objectives. Some have staged payments and it is now usual to pay a smaller annual performance award with the remainder deferred for two to three years and judged against the delivery of medium to longer term objectives. Performance is judged by line management with assistance from senior officials, stakeholders, remuneration committees and in some cases internal audit.
	Details of how much has been paid in non-consolidated awards and to how many SCS each year are shown in tables 1 and 2. Table 3 shows the monetary values of the largest non-consolidated payments made in each year to the combined SCS population of permanent staff and fixed term appointees.
	
		
			  Table 1-SCS permanent staff 
			   Performance year 
			   2009-10  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			   Financial year 
			   2010-11  2009-10  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Number of awards paid 169 195 187 186 181 181 136 
			 Value of awards paid (£) 995,500 1,594,500 1,501,700 1,325,700 1,178,500 899,822 711,737 
		
	
	
		
			  Table  2 -SCS  fixed term appointees 
			   SCS FTA  performance year 
			   2009-10  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			   Financial year 
			   2010-11  2009-10  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Number of awards paid (1)17 27 16 10 12 16 13 
			 Value of awards paid (£) 338,122 838,393 333,915 78,874 80,478 119,688 80,347 
			 (1) Six yet to be decided 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3-Top 20 highest non-consolidated awards for combined SCS population 
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2010-11 49,937 
			  49,900 
			  35,113 
			  25,755 
			  24,360 
			  22,153 
			  17,000 
			  15,750 
			  15,605 
			  15,000 
			  15,000 
			  13,800 
			  12,500 
			  12,500 
			  12,500 
			  12,500 
			  12,500 
			  12,500 
			  12,485 
			  10,674 
			   
			 2009-10 84,563 
			  75,000 
			  72,540 
			  55,350 
			  50,000 
			  50,000 
			  48,720 
			  48,000 
			  31,470 
			  30,750 
			  30,000 
			  30,000 
			  25,765 
			  24,101 
			  22,888 
			  21,337 
			  21,033 
			  16,200 
			  15,000 
			  15,000 
			   
			 2008-09 88,296 
			  61,250 
			  50,000 
			  48,000 
			  37,675 
			  31,703 
			  30,780 
			  30,000 
			  30,000 
			  30,000 
			  27,600 
			  24,000 
			  23,085 
			  22,085 
			  22,000 
			  21,546 
			  20,480 
			  19,000 
			  17,163 
			  17,091 
			   
			 2007-08 63,000 
			  50,000 
			  48,000 
			  24,000 
			  21,000 
			  20,000 
			  18,468 
			  17,716 
			  17,600 
			  17,600 
			  17,340 
			  15,450 
			  15,341 
			  14,500 
			  14,500 
			  12,750 
			  12,750 
			  12,240 
			  10,690 
			  10,000 
			   
			 2006-07 19,253 
			  16,000 
			  14,721 
			  14,000 
			  14,000 
			  14,000 
			  14,000 
			  12,546 
			  11,000 
			  11,000 
			  11,000 
			  11,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			   
			 2005-06 14,340 
			  12,250 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  10,000 
			  9,000 
			  9,000 
			  9.000 
			  7,863 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			  7,500 
			   
			 2004-05 11,358 
			  10,445 
			  9.821 
			  9,203 
			  8,777 
			  8.759 
			  8.695 
			  8.650 
			  8.600 
			  8,540 
			  8,463 
			  8,365 
			  8,256 
			  8,226 
			  8,226 
			  8,125 
			  7.400 
			  7,370 
			  7,069 
			  7,004 
		
	
	For staff below the SCS, non-consolidated performance awards are paid to staff who meet the eligibility criteria. Higher levels of award are available for those who have contributed most to the business. These awards are distributed on the basis of relative assessment among peers and are designed to encourage continuous high attainment against stretching objectives.
	The MOD also operates an in-year non-consolidated payment scheme, the special bonus scheme (SBS), which rewards eligible MOD civilians for exceptional performance in a specific task or for the achievement of a professional qualification the use of which benefits MOD and the individual. Separate arrangements apply to Ministry of Defence police (MDP) officers.
	In 2007 the Department moved to a new pay system and the ability to interrogate payments made through the SBS before this date has been diminished and therefore any effort now to try and access this data would require a disproportionate cost. SBS data is though available for financial years 2003-04 to 2006-07 because it was reported in previous parliamentary questions.
	The following table details the total value of payments made to staff below the SCS by way of non-consolidated performance payments and SBS awards by financial year.
	
		
			  Financial year  Total value of awards made (£)  Total number of awards made( 1) 
			 2003-04 24,113,406 39,369 
			 2004-05 33,947,217 46,269 
			 2005-06 43,038,937 49,093 
			 2006-07 41,060,624 55,339 
			 2007-08 46,256,490 61,878 
			 2008-09 47,516,913 71,940 
			 2009-10 44,231,916 66,585 
			 2010-11 0 0 
			 (1) It is not possible to state how many individuals received awards since the data is held as the number of awards made and not the number of recipients.  Note: Figures for financial year 2010-11 will not be available before 30 April 2011 since SBS awards are payable in year. 
		
	
	This response excludes information on staff below the SCS in MOD trading funds which have separate pay delegations.
	With the exception of the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force Museum, figures for the Department's non-departmental public bodies are included in the figures above.
	Like the MOD, financial year 2003-04 was the first year in which non-consolidated performance awards were paid to staff at the National Museum of the Royal Navy. The following table details the total value of payments made to staff by way of non-consolidated performance payments awards by financial year.
	
		
			  Financial year  Total value of awards made (£)  Number of staff receiving awards  Value of largest 20 payments 
			 2003-04 12,100 19 £425-£1,300 
			 2004-05 19,650 21 £625-£2,100 
			 2005-06 21,860 20 £625-£2,025 
			 2006-07 20,525 23 £300-£2,900 
			 2007-08 21,750 29 £400-£1,560 
			 2008-09 27,020 43 £400-£1,565 
			 2009-10 5,203 37 All £141 
		
	
	The National Museum of the Royal Navy has no special bonus scheme.
	The Museum does not keep records going back to 1997, but since 2004 non-consolidated performance awards and other payments have been available for staff employed by the museum and its trading subsidiary through one or more of the following:
	a special bonus scheme (typically £7,000 per annum in total has been set aside and payments to staff have been of the order of £250 to £1,000, generally under 10 awards each year),
	performance related pay (where the level of award has varied between a percentage-based amount or cash sum-both non consolidated-and is linked to the annual appraisal-individual payments typically being between £400 and £1,000 although in individual cases have been up to £3,000), costing the Museum approximately £100,000 per year,
	'incentivised' contracts for key trading subsidiary managers (head of retail or head of corporate events) where payments have varied from zero to over £3,000, depending on the trading subsidiary's performance and a percentage-based award for more junior trading subsidiary staff (typically 1% of salary) the cost falling on the trading subsidiary,
	in the case of the director general (until this year) through the non-consolidated performance award scheme applicable to senior civil servants, again linked to the annual appraisal process where payments in excess of £10,000 have been made, No award was made in 2009 and the system does not apply to the newly appointed director general.
	The largest payments made were to the director general under the conditions set out in the last paragraph and the directors (where performance awards were percentage-based) although these would have generally been below £5,000.
	Other payments: The Department currently has over 500 pay-related allowances and payments in addition to salary available to civilian staff. The majority of which are listed on the People, Pay and Pensions Agency services website:
	http://www.pppaservices.qinetiq-tim.com/https@ knowledge.chris.r.mil.uk/pppa/index@page=content&id =us131&cat=pay_and_expenses&actp=list.htm
	In addition allowances and payments in addition to salary in regard to civilian travel and subsistence claims and transfer allowances are payable. These are listed on the PPPA services website:
	http://www.pppaservices.qinetiq-tim.com/https@knowledge .chris.r.mil.uk/pppa/index@page=content&id=pr200&cat= travel_and_subsistence&actp= list.htm
	Information on the monetary value of each type of allowance and payment in each year since 1997 is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost for such a large number of allowances and payments. Information is available from July 2007, but will take a short while to compile. I will write to my hon. Friend with the details as soon as possible.

Falkland Islands: Deployment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what aircraft he expects to be available for operations in the Falkland Islands in the next 10 years.

Nick Harvey: The Government are unequivocally committed to the defence of the Falklands.
	The armed forces have a range of aircraft, both fixed wing and rotary, available for deployment in the Falkland Islands as operational circumstances require. We currently have Typhoon aircraft deployed in defence of the Falkland Islands. We also have a range of further capabilities to deter aggression.

Low Flying

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often RAF GR4 Tornado pilots are required to re-qualify for operational low flying; where re-qualification is carried out; and from where training flights originate.

Nick Harvey: Once operational low flying qualified, RAF GR4 Tornado pilots remain qualified provided they conduct at least two operational low flying flights in a six-month period. If re-qualification is required, it is carried out in one of the three operational low flying areas in the UK (Mid Wales, Scottish Borders and West Highlands) or on an overseas exercise where operational low flying is authorised. Training flights are predominantly launched from the two RAF Tornado main operating bases located at RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Marham.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's aircraft are equipped with the  (a) Searchwater 2000 radar,  (b) UYS503/AQS970 sonar,  (c) Northrop Grumman Night Giant EO system,  (d) DASS 2000 ECM and  (e) EL/L8300UK ESM; and what the capabilities of each system are.

Peter Luff: The Airborne Early Warning variant of Searchwater 2000 radar is fitted to the Royal Navy Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Area Control Mark 7 helicopter. The remaining systems are not in service on UK military aircraft.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which aircraft operated by his Department are capable of deploying torpedoes; and what the combat radius of such aircraft is.

Peter Luff: Royal Navy Merlin and Lynx helicopters are capable of deploying Stringray torpedoes.
	I am not prepared to comment on the combat radius of these assets as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of our armed forces.

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the planned role for maritime patrol aircraft has been in the event of a confrontation between a Royal Navy taskforce and a hostile taskforce  (a) preparatory to and  (b) in the course of engaging in action at sea;
	(2)  what the role of the Nimrod Mark 2 in detecting potentially hostile submarines has been; what assessment he has made of its effectiveness in fulfilling this role; what provision will be made to fulfil it in future; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  by what method a maritime patrol aircraft capability will be reconstituted in the event of a strategic requirement to do so.

Peter Luff: Maritime patrol aircraft, including the Nimrod MR2, have contributed to the protection of deployed Maritime Task Groups by tracking submarines and surface ships, and possessing the capability to attack hostile submarines.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 450-51W, to the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Mr McCann), the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth) and the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones). A range of military assets will be used to mitigate the capability gap which emerged as a result of the withdrawal from service of Nimrod MR2. Further requirements which might emerge as a result of any increase in threat will be considered as part of the Department's capability planning process.

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent the UK's ability rapidly to deploy maritime forces into areas of high threat will be affected by the loss of a maritime patrol aircraft capability.

Peter Luff: While I can confirm that we have judged that the decision not to bring the Nimrod MRA4 into service to be operationally manageable, I am not prepared to comment on the levels of protection afforded to our armed forces under potential threat scenarios.

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to acquire from the United States a maritime patrol aircraft off-the-shelf platform for the protection of the strategic nuclear deterrent; and what assessment his Department has made of the affordability of a ready-made United States platform.

Peter Luff: We have not made any assessment of the affordability of procuring a maritime patrol aircraft from the United States, and currently have no plans to do so.

Nimrod Aircraft

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of Airborne Maritime Forces following the cancellation of the Nimrod project.

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements for aerial surveillance he plans to make consequent on the proposed cancellation of his Department's order for a fleet of Nimrod surveillance aircraft.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on the UK's independent nuclear deterrent of the decision not to proceed with the Nimrod MRA4 programme.

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the remaining assets which will be available to protect nuclear submarines entering and leaving Faslane in consequence of the cancellation of the MRA4;
	(2)  what functions of the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft have been lost as a result of its withdrawal from service; and which functions will not be replaced;
	(3)  when he plans to review the consequences for  (a) protection of the nuclear deterrent and  (b) other maritime patrol aircraft roles of the withdrawal of Nimrod; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 28 October 2010,  Official Report, column 451W, to the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Mr McCann), the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth) and the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).

Nimrod Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  for what costs his Department is liable in respect of redundancies for (a) BAE systems employees,  (b) military service personnel and  (c) civilian personnel arising from the cancellation of the Nimrod MR4A programme;
	(2)  which components of the Nimrod MR4A his Department owns; and what the monetary value is in each case;
	(3)  what the  (a) current and  (b) projected annual costs are for storage of the Nimrod MR4A airframes and components;
	(4)  what stage of completion the remaining Nimrod MR4A aircraft have reached.

Peter Luff: Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review announcement on 19 October 2010 we have begun discussions with BAE Systems to terminate the contracts for production and support of the aircraft. Until these negotiations are complete I am unable to comment on the likely costs or the impact on personnel employed on the Nimrod MRA4 programme.
	To date the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has taken delivery of: the training simulator and building (approximate value £150 million); one production standard aircraft (approximate value £90 million); various rigs (approximate value £100 million) and various spares (approximate value £10 million).
	In addition, the MOD has funded the design and development programme, which produced three trials aircraft, and work under the production contract including the purchase and manufacture of components for the production aircraft. Ownership of components funded under these contracts is with the MOD, however, as they are an integral part of the overall contract it is not possible to individually identify the components and their current values.
	Storage costs cannot be separately identified in the current Nimrod MRA4 contracts. Any future storage costs associated with the termination of the contract will be a matter for negotiation with BAE Systems.
	One Nimrod MRA4 aircraft has been delivered, three aircraft are over 90% complete and the remaining five aircraft are over 40% complete.

Nuclear Submarines

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  for what reasons hand and foot radiation monitors were installed in the reactor compartment tunnels of operational nuclear-powered submarines; and what assessment of the health of nuclear submariners  (a) was made prior to and  (b) has been made since the installation of such monitors;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing the in-port, on-land mandatory secondary radiation monitoring of nuclear submariners returning to port at Faslane.

Peter Luff: The compulsory use of hand and foot contamination monitors was introduced to provide additional reassurance to workers and personnel exiting the reactor compartment of nuclear submarines during maintenance work. The health of submariners is monitored in line with armed forces policy. This process has not changed since the introduction of the hand and foot monitors and no comparative analysis exists.
	The introduction of a shore based secondary monitoring system for personnel exiting controlled areas on nuclear submarines is not currently under consideration. Existing arrangements comply with legal requirements and have been the subject of a number of successful inspections by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what location on his Department's website the text of its value-for-money review of the nuclear weapons systems can be accessed; which  (a) Ministers,  (b) officials and  (c) external experts participated in the review; how much it cost to conduct; and if he will publish each submission made to it.

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff of his Department were employed on the Trident value-for-money review  (a) on a part-time basis and  (b) on a full-time basis; and what estimate he has made of the cost of the review under each category of expenditure.

Liam Fox: The value for money review's outcomes were published as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/PolicyStrategyandPlanning/SDSR/StrategicDefenceAndSecurityReviewsdsr.htm
	Because of the classified nature of much of the supporting paperwork there are no plans to publish anything further.
	The Ministry of Defence agreed the conclusions of the value for money review before it was passed to the Cabinet Office for consideration by the National Security Council. The Secretary of State, Minister of State for the Armed Forces and the Minister for Defence Equipment, Science and Technology were also closely involved in the review.
	The review was conducted by Rear Admiral Philip Mathias and Mr Ian Forber, a senior civil servant from the MOD, both working full time, and a number of other MOD staff provided significant input to the review within the scope of their existing posts. The final staff cost is estimated to be approximately £120,000. In addition, there has been some expenditure on external assistance and technical consultancy for the value for money review which has totalled some £200,000. Overall, the value for money review produced savings of £1.2 billion and deferred spending of up to £2 billion over the next 10 years.

Nuclear Weapons: Decommissioning

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which location the verification test inspection will be conducted as part of the UK-Norway Initiative in December 2010.

Nick Harvey: The UK-Norway Initiative will conduct a verification test inspection of a mock facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Nuclear Weapons: Finance

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the projected expenditure is on the Mk4A refurbishment programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on the Trident replacement future submarine programme in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on the Atomic Weapons Establishment in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on the UK nuclear weapon programme, including the atomic weapons establishment and the future submarine programme, in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Twickenham of 29 January 2010,  Official Report, column 1118W, on AWE Aldermaston, how much his Department plans to spend on capital expenditure for the two atomic weapons establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield in each of the next three financial years.

Liam Fox: Future planned expenditure on the nuclear deterrent will be subject to cost savings measures identified in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). This includes expenditure on the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) and the Future Submarine Programme. Release of further detail may prejudice the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) negotiating position with its commercial suppliers, and final savings figures will depend on detailed SDSR-related implementation. The MOD is, therefore, not prepared to release this financial information at this time.
	We expect, however, that the in-service costs of the UK's nuclear deterrent, which includes AWE's costs, will remain similar to those of the 2006 White Paper.
	The AWE costs associated with the Mk4A modification form part of the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme, which cannot be distinguished from the AWE management and operation costs.

Peacekeeping Operations: Iraq and Afghanistan

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the publication on the Internet of classified materials relating to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Liam Fox: I have had no such discussions. UK and US officials have however discussed this issue.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Edgbaston

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which VIPs have visited the hospital wards managed by his Department at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Edgbaston since the opening of that hospital.

Andrew Robathan: Since the opening of the new Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham on 16 June 2010, there have been nine scheduled VIP visits that included the Military Ward.
	In order not to prejudice patient welfare and clinical recovery, VIP visits to the Military Ward are private in nature, and always kept to the minimum. Consequently, we do not wish to publicise the details of who has visited. I am happy to speak personally to the hon. Member on this point. The chief executive of the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust has also arranged visits to the hospital, but we do not hold records of these.

Rescue Services

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met officials from the Department of Transport to discuss the search and rescue contract under the private finance initiative; and what the outcome of these discussions was.

Peter Luff: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has discussed the search and rescue helicopter project with the Department for Transport on a number of occasions. The last meeting he attended on the subject at which officials from the Department for Transport were present was on 29 July, but Ministers and officials of both Departments have continued to engage subsequently. An announcement on the way forward will be made as soon as the review is complete.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to paragraph 3.1 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, Cm 7948, what the most extreme threats are against which British nuclear weapons are deployed for deterrence purposes.

Liam Fox: The UK would use nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence and would not use them contrary to international law. We do not define in advance precisely what circumstances we would regard as justifying the use of nuclear weapons or, by implication, indicate actions that an aggressor could take without fear of a nuclear response.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the overall anti-submarine capabilities  (a) currently and  (b) in 2015 of (i) the Royal Navy and (ii) the Royal Air Force.

Peter Luff: Current and future requirements for anti-submarine warfare capability were assessed during the Strategic Defence and Security Review. In view of the sensitive and classified nature of this military task, and the implications for the protection of our armed forces, including the nuclear deterrent, it is not possible for us to comment in detail.

France: Military Alliances

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects on  (a) the UK and  (b) UK armed forces of the Anglo-French treaty on defence and security.

Liam Fox: holding answer 9 November 2010
	The defence and security treaty strengthens the United Kingdom's bilateral relationship with France and offers significant operational, technological and financial benefits. These will be achieved through sharing development and equipment costs, eliminating unnecessary duplication, coordinating logistics, and aligning our research programmes. The treaty also provides the framework for closer co-operation, and improved interoperability, between our armed forces. It will lead to more capable and effective forces and improve our collective defence capability to the benefit of NATO, the UN and the EU.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC: Broadband

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the BBC Trust on the mechanisms by which the BBC plans to fund broadband services.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport discussed the principles of funding broadband with the BBC Trust in the context of the recent licence fee agreement but we have yet to decide the most appropriate mechanism for drawing down the £530 million available for broadband projects.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent representations he received from representatives of rural communities when formulating the National Broadband Strategy.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not personally had discussions with representatives of rural communities in forming the National Broadband Strategy. Officials and I have had numerous discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of rural communities on subjects that will inform the development of the National Broadband Strategy in meetings and at events such as the conferences I attended in Hereford, Penrith and Abingdon within the last few months.

Broadband: Wales

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what consideration his Department gave to planning a superfast broadband pilot in Wales.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The selection of the superfast broadband pilots was based on an assessment of the proposals put forward by the devolved Administrations and regional development agencies against the criteria set out on the Broadband Delivery UK industry day on 15 July 2010. The proposal from the Welsh Assembly Government was given the same consideration as the other 10 proposals.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: Grants

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the monetary value of grants by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was in each of the last five years.

John Penrose: Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has supplied us with their grants to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for the last five years. This information is as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Grant (£) 
			 2005-06 3,263,400 
			 2006-07 1,370,670 
			 2007-08 2,570,300 
			 2008-09 941,600 
			 2009-10 123,800 
		
	
	Additionally, in 2009-10 HLF awarded two projects a Round 1 Pass, amounting to £157,700 of funding.

Theatres: Young People

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what information his Department holds on the number of youth  (a) orchestras,  (b) dance groups and  (c) theatres in England.

Edward Vaizey: The Department does not hold information on the total number of youth orchestras, dance groups or theatres in England.

Theatres: Young People

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to how many youth  (a) orchestras,  (b) dance groups and  (c) theatres (i) his Department and (ii) non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible provide funding.

Edward Vaizey: The Department provides funding to youth orchestras, dance groups and theatres through Arts Council England.
	In 2009-10 Arts Council England provided funding for 102 individuals and organisations either exclusively for youth arts, or for work that includes a youth art element.
	The number of individuals and organisations funded through Grants for the Arts (GFTA) and Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO) status is set out in the following table, along with the percentage of that work that is focused on youth arts.
	
		
			  2009-10 Awards Youth Arts-individuals/organisation 
			Percentage of Youth Arts activity  Grand total 
			  Classifier  Funding programme 25 50 75 100 - 
			 Youth Dance GFTA 12 3 0 5 20 
			 Youth Dance RFO 18 3 0 0 21 
			 Youth Dance total  30 6 0 5 41 
			
			 Youth Music GFTA 9 1 1 6 17 
			 Youth Music RFO 7 3 0 2 12 
			 Youth Music total  16 4 1 8 29 
			
			 Youth Theatre GFTA 5 4 2 8 19 
			 Youth Theatre RFO 7 2 3 1 13 
			 Youth Theatre total  12 6 5 9 32 
			
			 Grand total  58 16 6 22 102

HOME DEPARTMENT

Deportation: Private Sector

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer by the Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism of 2 November 2010,  Official Report,  House of Lords, column 1562, on immigration: deportation, if she will publish the UK Border Agency's guidance for private companies on the use of restraint in forced deportations.

Theresa May: The guidance to which you refer is the Use of Force Manual, owned by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The document is restricted on the grounds that knowledge of the specific techniques it contains could be used against officers or to counter attempts to restrain individuals, thus putting at risk good order and discipline in prisons, immigration removal centres and during the escorting of individuals for removal.
	For this reason I cannot release a full copy of the manual but arrangements are being made for a redacted version to be placed in the House Library. This contains information about communication skills, medical considerations, personal safety and production of incident reports. The sections detailing the various restraint techniques have been removed.
	The UK Border Agency's operating standards for escorts includes one about the use of restraint. The standards are available on the UK Border Agency's website at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/immigrationremovalcentres/

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has made an assessment of the outcomes of the randomised injectable opiate treatment trials.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 4 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 883-84W.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers the European Commission has to monitor UK compliance with those EU Justice and Home Affairs instruments to which the UK has opted in, under the provisions of the Lisbon treaty; and what jurisdiction the European Court of Justice has over such monitoring.

James Brokenshire: There are specific provisions in the treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ('TFEU') to enable the European Commission to monitor UK compliance with EU Justice and Home Affairs instruments to which the UK has opted in under the provisions of the Lisbon treaty. There may also be provisions in specific instruments that provide provisions for the Commission to monitor compliance with that particular instrument.
	Article 258 TFEU empowers the European Commission to deliver a reasoned opinion to a member state when it considers that the state has failed to fulfil an obligation under the treaties. This includes any obligation arising under those EU Justice and Home Affairs instruments to which the UK has opted in since the entry into force of the treaty of Lisbon. If the member state fails to comply, the Commission may bring the matter before the Court of Justice of the European Union. In accordance with article 260 TFEU, if the Court of Justice of the European Union finds that the member state has failed to fulfil the obligation the member state shall be required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment.

Exclusion Orders

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were denied entry to the UK because of concerns about their extremist views in the last 12 months.

Damian Green: I can confirm that in the period covering 1 November 2009 to 3 October 2010, 11 individuals have been excluded from the UK on these grounds.
	Additionally, a decision to deny entry to the UK may be made at the entry clearance application stage, or when a person arrives at the port of entry. Denial of entry may also include individuals who have either been deported from, or removed and subsequently excluded from, the United Kingdom and in certain cases. There are no centrally held records which encompass the total number of foreign nationals who have been denied entry to the UK in this manner because of concerns about their extremist views.

Immigration Controls

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which  (a) intra-company transfers and  (b) student visas she plans to exempt from the proposed cap on levels of non-EU immigration; for what reasons the exemptions have been made; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: We will announce the operation of the immigration limit and precise details of how in future individual routes will work in due course. As the Prime Minister said last week, businesses have told us that intra-company transfers should not be part of the annual limit. We have listened carefully to the advice.
	Our limit applies to economic routes. We are reviewing the non-economic immigration routes separately, including the student route. We will introduce new measures, where required, to minimise abuse of the student route and to tighten the system further, in support of the aim of reducing net migration to tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands.

Immigration: South East

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residents of  (a) Reading West constituency,  (b) Reading,  (c) Berkshire and  (d) the South East are awaiting the completion of legacy immigration cases.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is unable to accurately report on the number of individuals resident in Reading West constituency, Reading, Berkshire and the South East who have an outstanding asylum case being dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate (CRD). This is because many records that appear to be open on our database are errors or duplicates that require no further action. We also hold old or incomplete address information for a number of individuals who have lost touch with the agency.
	As reported in November 2010 to the Home Affairs Select Committee, CRD had concluded 334,500 cases up to the end of September 2010, of which 48% were duplicates, errors or cases that the agency has been unable to trace.

Squatting: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many evictions of squatters from properties in Dartford constituency there have been in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: I have been asked to reply.
	The Ministry of Justice holds statistical information in relation to the number of possession orders against squatters or trespassers made in the county courts of England and Wales, and the number of interim possession orders made, upon delivery of which squatters must leave within 24 hours or be guilty of a criminal offence. There was one possession order made against squatters or trespassers in Dartford county court in 2008 and none in each other year from 2005 to 2009. There were no interim possession orders made in Dartford county court between 2005 and 2009.
	Central administrative databases are not able to separately identify how many of these orders were in relation to squatters specifically. The Ministry of Justice also does not hold any statistical information about the number of evictions of squatters from properties.
	The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, county courts' jurisdictions are not coterminous with constituency boundaries. The above figures do not therefore necessarily relate to properties located in the Dartford constituency area.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Tenants

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what will be the maximum length of the fixed-term tenancies in the public housing sector announced following the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Grant Shapps: We have rightly opened a debate about how we can create a social housing system that will provide stability where it is needed; provide more choice for tenants and prospective tenants; protect vulnerable households; and help get people into long-term employment. Existing social tenants will retain their existing rights and tenure. We will publish a policy paper setting out more details shortly.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each of its Ministers in  (a) September and  (b) October 2010.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government did not incur any expenditure on hospitality for events hosted by its Ministers during September and October 2010.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what regulations he plans to  (a) repeal and  (b) amend in the next five years.

Bob Neill: At present it is too early to project how many regulations will be repealed or amended over the next five years. However, we are already taking steps to reduce the regulatory burden. We are also reducing the unnecessary burden of existing secondary legislation and other forms of regulation to remove needless bureaucracy. We have already announced various changes including the suspension and impending abolishment of home information packs, consolidation of building regulations and consolidation of three sets of tree protection regulations together with streamlining of this system. In addition to this, the forthcoming Localism Bill will contain additional measures that will further free local government from central and regional control so that they can ensure services are delivered according to local needs. Examples of this include radically reforming the planning system to give neighbourhoods much greater ability to determine the shape of the places in which their inhabitants live.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that new regulatory burdens on businesses are given full consideration through the new one-in one-out rule, and that new burdens on local government are also fully taken into account. Later this year we will publish our Regulatory Forward Programme which will provide details of all forthcoming regulatory and deregulatory measures.

Housing: Construction

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's White Paper on Local Growth: realising every place's potential, Cm. 7961, paragraph 3.29, what estimate he has made of the total number of new homes to be built in each of the next six years.

Grant Shapps: We inherited a catastrophic decline in home building from the previous Government. A combination of divisive top-down targets and a public subsidy-driven approach delivered just 118,000 completions in 2009, the lowest level of house building in England and Wales in peace-time since 1923-24. This is despite the previous Government increasing the notional annual house-building target to 240,000 dwellings a year-showing the disconnect between Whitehall targets and actual house-building.
	Under the hon. Member's system, if a local authority built more homes, little of the benefit was seen by the local community. Existing residents saw only further strain on public services. We are wasting no time in taking action.
	Rewarding rather than penalising councils and communities for new homes is not only fairer, but will be far more effective. We will create a powerful framework of incentives which will return the economic benefits of growth back to communities.
	The cornerstone of this framework is the New Homes Bonus-a powerful, simple, transparent and permanent incentive. The scheme will match fund the additional council tax raised when new homes are built or brought back into use for the following six years and we will increase the incentive for building affordable homes with an additional amount. Those local authorities that take action now to consent to and support the construction of new homes will receive direct and substantial benefit from their actions.
	We have set aside almost £1 billion over the spending review period and previously made clear that funding beyond those levels would come from Formula Grant. Almost £200 million will be made available to meet the costs of the scheme in 2011-12.
	I am pleased to announce that a formal consultation will be published on 12 November and I will be writing to all local authority leaders and English MPs on this.

Housing: Regeneration

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of funding under each budget heading for housing market renewal contracts in each local authority in each of the next five years.

Grant Shapps: The housing market renewal fund as it is currently structured will end in 2010-11. It is not possible to comment at this stage on funding for the continuation of projects in areas covered by housing market renewal pathfinders. Those areas covered by recently announced local enterprise partnerships will be able to bid for funding from the regional growth fund for capital projects. The Government will continue to work with local authorities to enable the delivery of housing and regeneration which have the support of the local community. The spending review also provides for £6.5 billion of investment in housing.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects local enterprise partnerships to be  (a) established and  (b) in receipt of Government funding.

Bob Neill: On 28 October 2010, the Government published their Local Growth White Paper, which set out their approach to achieving local economic growth by shifting power to local levels and helping to create the right conditions for growth and recovery. This included announcing the first 24 local enterprise partnerships which have been given the go-ahead to establish their boards and begin dialogue with central Government on how we can help them realise the ambitions set out in their proposals.
	As set out in the White Paper, local enterprise partnerships will be expected to fund their own day-to-day running costs and they may wish to submit bids to the Regional Growth Fund.

Local Government Finance

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will set a floor level for formula grant for local authorities which are below the present floor level for the period of the Comprehensive Spending Review; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: We will announce our proposals for the distribution of formula grant to the House in due course.

Local Government Finance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects local authorities to be authorised to proceed with tax increment financing schemes; and what mechanisms he plans to put in place to co-ordinate such financing with capital funding for projects from the Department for Transport.

Bob Neill: The Government will develop and introduce proposals to implement local retention of business rates, and to introduce Tax Increment Financing powers to allow authorities to fund key projects by borrowing against future increases in business rates, by April 2012. The necessary changes to give effect to this will require primary legislation. This work, including the mechanisms for delivering Tax Increment Financing projects, will be taken forward through the Local Government Resource Review which will start in January 2011.

Local Government: Audit

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the reasons are for the difference between the answers of 18 October 2010,  Official Report, column 510W, on local government finance and 1 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 519-20W, on the Audit Commission, in respect of the role of the National Audit Office and the duties of district auditors in reporting matters in the public interest.

Bob Neill: My answers of 18 October 2010,  Official Report, column 510W and of 1 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 519-20W, are wholly consistent. On 18 October, I set out that the new statutory over-arching framework will be overseen by the profession and National Audit Office. On 1 November I explained that local district auditors will retain a duty for reporting specific issues in the public interest and that it is not envisaged that the National Audit Office will assume any of the Audit Commission's functions in this respect. Such functions are about the handling of the public interest report.

Multiple Occupation: Licensing

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance to local authorities on the application to a community of practising Buddhists of the provisions of schedule 14(5)(1) of the Housing Act 2004.

Grant Shapps: The Department for Communities and Local Government has no current plans to issue guidance on schedule 14(5)(1) of the Housing Act 2004. It is for local authorities to assess on a case by case basis whether a building is subject to the licensing provisions.

Planning Permission

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent repeat applications for planning development in cases where the first attempt has been rejected by the local council.

Bob Neill: Since April 2009, local authorities have powers, under section 70B of the Town and Country Planning Act (1990), to decline to determine repeat planning applications. This applies where:
	The same (or a substantially similar) application has been rejected by the Secretary of State on appeal or following a call-in, within the previous two years; or
	The local planning authority itself has refused two or more substantially similar applications in the previous two years, and there has been no appeal against refusal to the Secretary of State.

Social Rented Housing: Coventry

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to increase the social housing stock in Coventry.

Grant Shapps: The Department does not forecast levels of future house building and delivery will be determined by local housing plans. In the spending review we announced almost £4.5 billion investment in new affordable housing to deliver up to 150,000 affordable homes. We are giving housing associations much more flexibility on rents and use of assets, so our aspiration is to deliver as many homes as possible through our investment and reforms. We will publish details of how these proposals will work shortly.

Special Areas of Conservation: Bromley

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to designate areas of special residential character designated by the London borough of Bromley as special areas of conservation.

Bob Neill: This is a matter for local authorities. They have statutory responsibility for designating such areas, once they have assessed which parts of their area have special architectural or historic interest. English Heritage also has the power to designate conservation areas in Greater London, subject to prior consultation with the council of the London borough(s) concerned.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance to planning authorities on the minimum admissible distance of wind turbine developments from dwellings.

Bob Neill: Current planning policy already advises local planning authorities that the distances between wind turbines and dwellings should be decided on a case by case basis so that local factors can be taken fully into account.

HEALTH

Autism: Health Services

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department's forthcoming statutory guidance for local authorities and NHS organisations to support implementation of its autism strategy will require the provision of brokerage services to support adults with autism to manage individual budgets and direct payments for social care.

Paul Burstow: The national consultation on the statutory guidance closed on 22 October. We are currently in the process of analysing the response, which will inform the further development of the statutory guidance. Ministers will then consider a revised draft and take final decisions on content. We would not wish nor would it be appropriate to anticipate this process.
	The Autism Act sets the publication date for the statutory guidance, which must be produced and published before 31 December 2010.

Autism: Health Services

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what autism training his Department requires in respect of community care assessors who work with adults with autism; and what measures on training delivery he plans to include in his Department's statutory guidance for local authorities and NHS organisations to support implementation of its autism strategy.

Paul Burstow: There are no specific requirements currently on what form of autism training should be given by local authorities to community care assessors working with adults with autism. But the Government recognise the importance that staff carrying out assessment should have appropriate training, and this was addressed in the draft statutory guidance published for consultation earlier this year.
	The national consultation on the statutory guidance closed on 22 October. We are currently in the process of analysing the response, which will inform the further development of the statutory guidance. Ministers will then consider a revised draft and take final decisions on content. We would not wish nor would it be appropriate to anticipate this process.
	The Autism Act sets the publication date for the statutory guidance, which must be produced and published before 31 December 2010.

Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate of 2 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 766-7, what assessment he has made of the compliance of the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey clinical strategy with his criteria for future healthcare models on GP commissioning institutions, future patient choice and proper reflection of the views of the public.

Simon Burns: In May 2010, the Secretary of State set down four tests which proposals for national health service reconfiguration must meet.
	It is the role of strategic health authorities to ensure local health commissioners are engaged with general practitioners (GPs), wider stakeholders, and the public to ensure the four tests are realised.
	NHS London, through its assurance work on the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy, will seek to ensure that GP commissioning intentions, future patient choice and views of the public have been properly reflected.

Blood: Contamination

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account he has taken of the levels of payments made to haemophiliac patients infected by contaminated blood and blood products in the Republic of Ireland in determining the level of payments to such patients; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement on 14 October 2010,  Official Report, column 30WS.

Care Homes

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people over 65 are full-time residents of care and residential homes in England.

Paul Burstow: Data on the number of adults aged 65 and over in receipt of local authority funded residential and nursing care is collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. These are broken down into whether the resident's type of stay is permanent or temporary.
	As at 31 March 2010, 162,500 adults aged 65 and over were in receipt of permanent registered residential care funded fully or in part by councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities.
	Data on the number of adults aged 65 and over who fund their own care is not collected centrally.

CJD

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the outcomes were of his Department's workshop for patients, carers and health professionals on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease held in April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The workshop was specifically for those affected by haemophilia and other bleeding disorders who may be at increased risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). It enabled patients, their families and health professionals to hear presentations from a panel of experts about the current state of knowledge of vCJD and the way in which the risk is managed, given the significant scientific uncertainty. Those attending were able to put questions directly to the experts. The Department funded filming of the workshop. A DVD was made available to the Haemophilia Society.

CJD: Research

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research projects his Department has funded in each of the last three years into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; and what the outcomes of those projects were;
	(2)  in which companies engaged in research into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease his Department holds shares.

Anne Milton: Over the last three years, the Department has funded research on variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in the following areas:
	surveillance and prevalence of vCJD in the population;
	infectivity of vCJD tissues, and aetiology and transmission studies;
	improving the safety of blood;
	decontamination of surgical instruments; and
	development of therapeutics for prion infected patients.
	The projects have built largely on previous studies, as part of the Department's overall strategy for addressing key policy questions relating to vCJD. This has enabled the implementation and continuing refinement of measures to reduce the risk of exposure of the population to vCJD.
	Research to determine how many people may be carrying infection in the United Kingdom population has resulted in an estimate, based on a sample of around 10,000 tissue samples, giving a wide prevalence range of between 1:1,200 and 1:20,000. Efforts to refine this are under way.
	Transmission of vCJD via blood has been proven and measures have been introduced to reduce the risk of contamination of blood and blood products. The potential for transmission of vCJD via instruments used in neurosurgery, some other surgery and dental procedures remains. Single-use instruments and decontamination guidelines have been introduced to reduce this risk.
	The Department does not hold shares in any companies engaged in research into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding to meet staff redundancy costs was identified in his Department's settlement letter in respect of the comprehensive spending review.

Simon Burns: All pressures on Departments' budgets were taken into account as part of the spending review and settlements were allocated accordingly. The full costs of redundancies will be met from within the Department's spending review resource departmental expenditure limit settlement.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve drug treatment services.

Anne Milton: The Government are keen to set a new ambition for drug services that puts the ultimate goal of recovery at its heart.
	High quality treatment and rehabilitation for those who misuse drugs are the most effective ways to address drug misuse and we want to support treatment by ensuring that individuals are able to access the full range of services to help them rebuild their lives.
	The Government are currently formulating the new Drugs Strategy which will set out the future of drug treatment policy. This will be published in December.
	As well as the Drug Strategy, we are also creating a public health service to take action to promote public health, and encourage behaviour change to help people live healthier lives and drug treatment will sit at the core of the public health service.

General Practitioners

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP commissioning consortia will be allowed to keep any budgetary underspends.

Simon Burns: Under our proposals for general practitioner (GP) commissioning, practice level budgets will be allocated directly to consortia who will be responsible for managing these commissioning budgets-which will be distinct from GP practice income-and deciding how best to use resources to meet the health care needs of their patients. They will have a duty to ensure that expenditure does not exceed their allocated resources.
	The NHS Commissioning Board will hold consortia to account for the stewardship of national health service resources and will have a significant role in managing financial risk.
	The principles for managing underspends and overspends, including whether any planned and managed underspends may be carried over to future years to invest in services and whether any actual overspends will be deducted from the following year's allocation, will be agreed between the NHS Commissioning Board, the Department and HM Treasury.

NHS Supply Chain

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued to NHS Supply Chain on the new Part IX arrangements of the Drug Tariff;
	(2)  whether his Department places requirements on NHS Supply Chain to ensure contracts do not reduce  (a) patient choice,  (b) patient safety and  (c) a patient's rights;
	(3)  what his Department's policy is on the  (a) supply and  (b) use of unbranded medical appliances in primary and secondary care; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: No guidance has been issued by the Department to the national health service or NHS Supply Chain (NHS SC) on the new Part IX arrangements of the Drug Tariff.
	NHS SC sources products and services that the NHS may wish to procure so the Department does not place any such requirements on the NHS SC with regard to patient choice, safety and rights. NHS organisations (such as hospitals) can utilise NHS SC but are not mandated to procure goods or services from it. Any procurement carried out by the NHS would need to take account, among other things, of products needed to ensure patient choice, safety and rights. As part of these procurements secondary care will decide whether it wishes to source branded or unbranded medical appliances.
	In primary care, Part IX of the Drug Tariff lists those products deemed suitable for prescribing by general practitioners and other appropriate prescribers. These products can then be dispensed by pharmacies, appliance contractors and, if applicable, dispensing doctors operating pharmaceutical services. The Drug Tariff lists both branded and unbranded appliances as appropriate.

NHS: Productivity

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on the McKinsey report on Achieving world class productivity in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The cost of the report was £46,000 (including VAT). The report commissioned by the previous Government was delivered on 18 March 2009.

Older People: Mental Health

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the level of psychological well-being of elderly people in residential care;
	(2)  whether he has made a recent assessment of the effects of companion animal ownership on the physical and psychological well-being of elderly people  (a) in and  (b) not in residential care;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the psycho-social needs of elderly people in residential care;
	(4)  whether there are mechanisms in place to ensure that the psychological well-being of elderly people in residential care is given priority by local authorities.

Paul Burstow: The Department has not made any such assessments or had any such discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. It is the responsibility of local authority social services departments to assess the needs of people living in their areas and to provide or arrange care which is appropriate to meet those needs, which will include their psychological well-being.
	The Government appreciate that pets and companion animals can be a source of great comfort to their owners. We would encourage residential care providers to give careful consideration to granting requests from residents to take their pets into care homes.
	Providers of residential care are free to decide, in the light of individual local circumstances, whether or not to permit residents to keep pets. The Government consider that this is the only practically workable approach.

Osteosarcoma: Drugs

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the decision by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence not to recommend the introduction of mifamurtide into the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: In the period 12 May 2010 to 5 November 2010, the Department received 116 written representations from hon. Members (including the hon. Lady's question), members of the public, a pharmaceutical company and patient groups about the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) ongoing appraisal of mifamurtide (Mepact) for the treatment of osteosarcoma. NICE has not yet issued its final guidance to the national health service.

Queen Mary's Hospital Sidcup

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the closure of Accident and Emergency and maternity departments at Queen Mary's hospital Sidcup does not prejudge the outcome of the reconfiguration programme, A Picture of Health.

Simon Burns: NHS London, through its assurance work on the A Picture of Health reconfiguration scheme, is currently considering the report produced by the Clinical Forum established in outer South East London to lead a review of the proposals against the four tests for national health service reconfigurations as set down by the Secretary of State in May 2010.
	The decision made by the trust to temporarily close Accident and Emergency and maternity units at Queen Mary's hospital Sidcup is based on clinical and patient safety. The temporary closures of these units will not impact on NHS London's assessment of the A Picture of Health reconfiguration proposals against the four tests for reconfiguration. Both units will reopen if this is found to be the best way forward for the local community.

Social Services

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what correspondence he received from  (a) local authority leaders,  (b) councillors with lead responsibility for social care and  (c) local authority directors of social services on the effect of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on social care provision before the announcement of the outcome of the review; and if he will place in the Library each such item of correspondence.

Paul Burstow: The Department received six such items of correspondence between 12 May and 20 October 2010. The decision to place these in the Library will be made following consultation with the correspondents.

Social Services: Vulnerable Adults

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authorities in  (a) the North East and  (b) England were recorded as performing poorly in safeguarding adults in service inspection reports of the Care Quality Commission in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England. It has carried out assessments of adult social care, which can include service inspections of local authorities.
	The following information has been provided by CQC.
	Inspections of adult social care look at safeguarding and up to two outcomes drawn from the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework.
	CQC carried out and published 35 inspections of adult social care during the period June 2009 to November 2010. Of these two local authorities have a poor rating for 'safeguarding' in the north-east region. These are:
	Redcar and Cleveland; and
	Gateshead.
	Two further local authorities in England have a poor rating for 'safeguarding', these are:
	The Wirral, (North West Region); and
	Hounslow, (London Region).

Visual Impairment

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the recommendation of the NHS Information Centre on registration rates by local authorities of persons with  (a) sight loss and  (b) visual impairment;
	(2)  whether he plans to require local authorities to publish the number of residents with  (a) new and  (b) existing visual impairment or sight loss;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on maintaining registers of people with visual impairment or sight loss; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Under Section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 local authorities are required to compile and maintain classified Registers. Information on the numbers of people who fall within the scope of this act are recorded on the local authority registers since 2005 by the NHS Information Centre and SSDA902 is the statistical return for registration of blind persons and partially sighted persons.
	Officials have had a number of discussions with voluntary sector partners on the quality of data collection on registered blind and partially-sighted people. In 2008 the then Minister for Care Services commissioned the NHS Information Centre to take forward a review with the aim of improving the quality of the data collected. Officials are addressing the recommendations of the NHS IC report and will discuss these with external partners, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People and local authorities, to agree the way forward.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Onshore Wind Turbines

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for the production and construction of UK onshore wind turbines; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Government are committed to a substantial increase in renewable energy which will require a large contribution from offshore wind; this is also a vital economic and employment opportunity for the UK. This is why my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister recently announced that we are committing up to £60 million to support offshore wind manufacturing infrastructure at port sites in England.

Carbon Budgets

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review on the ability of the Government to meet its carbon budgets; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway) today.

Feed-In Tariffs

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has for the future of feed-in tariffs for small-scale renewables; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke) today.

New Nuclear Power Stations

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to facilitate new nuclear power stations without public subsidy.

Charles Hendry: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson) earlier today.

Coal Miners: Compensation Settlements

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many eligible  (a) current and  (b) former coal miners have not yet received a final compensation settlement for industrial disease.

Charles Hendry: DECC is only liable in relation to former British Coal employees. The two main compensation schemes for former miners involving a total of c.760,000 claims are largely complete.
	At 31 October 2010 there were six outstanding scheme claims for vibration white finger. There were 102 active claims remaining in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease scheme of which 21 have yet to receive an offer, but should do so by the end of the year.

Departmental Lobbying

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent from the public purse on influencing public policy through  (a) employing external (i) public affairs companies, (ii) strategic consultancies and (iii) corporate communications firms,  (b) external marketing and  (c) other activities in each year since its inception.

Gregory Barker: The Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies have not spent any money on these activities/firms.

Departmental Lobbying

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which of his Department's non-departmental public bodies have undertaken activities to influence public policy for which they engaged  (a) public affairs and  (b) public relations consultants in each year since its inception; and at what monetary cost in each such year.

Gregory Barker: None of the Department's non-departmental public bodies have engaged public affairs or public relations consultants to influence public policy.

Radioactive Waste

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management has made on finding a suitable site for disposal of radioactive waste.

Charles Hendry: The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) does not have a role in identifying possible sites for disposal of radioactive waste.
	Government are undertaking a stepwise process for implementing geological disposal of higher activity radioactive waste, as set out in the 2008 White Paper "Managing Radioactive Waste Safely: A Framework for Implementation of Geological Disposal". CoRWM's primary task is to provide independent scrutiny and advice on the Government's and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's proposals, plans and programmes to deliver geological disposal, together with robust interim storage.
	Government's process to site a geological disposal facility is based on voluntarism and partnership with local communities with the first stage being local communities 'expressing an interest' in entering discussions with Government about the siting process.
	To date, three 'expressions of interest' have been received (Copeland borough council, Cumbria county council and Allerdale borough council) for the areas of Copeland and Allerdale. The authorities and local stakeholders are working together in partnership to consider whether to move to the next stage of the process and further information is available on their website at:
	www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk
	The option to express an interest remains open and DECC officials are available to answer questions or advise any community who wishes to seek further information.

Renewable Energy

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what annual targets he has set under the Climate Change Act 2009 to reach near 30 per cent. generation of energy from renewables by 2020.

Gregory Barker: The renewable energy directive 2009 sets the UK a legally binding target to ensure that 15% of our energy comes from renewable sources by 2020. The directive does not set annual targets; however, the first interim milestone is to achieve an average of 4% over 2011 and 2012.

TREASURY

Bank Services

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with UK banks on implementing the recommendations of the 2007 Independent Review of the Banking Code on information and advice to customers abroad on procedures and alternative methods of payment should their cards be blocked; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The 2007 review of the voluntary Banking Code was implemented by the then Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB). The BCSB took forward a recommendation that banks that block payment cards used abroad should tell their customers that their cards may be blocked, so that customers can consider alternative methods of payment.
	As part of the information process, an advice guide on paying by card for those going abroad on holiday or business is published by the UK Cards Association. The guide is accessible on the association's web site.

Civil Servants: Pensions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he had with representatives of civil servants on the rate of civil service pension scheme benefits for 2010-11; what steps he took to inform civil servants of the rate of benefits which would apply in 2010-11; what representations he has received on this matter from civil servants in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: I am replying as policy for the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme rests with the Cabinet Office.
	I have had no discussions with representatives of civil servants on the rate of the civil service scheme pension benefits for 2010-11. Pension benefits for civil servants are set by the rules of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.
	Pension arrangements for members of the Northern Ireland civil service are not covered by the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme and are a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Debts: Developing Countries

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the provisions of the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Act 2010.

Mark Hoban: The Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 and the Act came into force on 8 June 2010. The legislation means that UK courts of law can no longer be used to pursue excessive claims against some of the poorest countries on their historic debts, ensuring that resources are available to tackle poverty. The sunset clause attached to this legislation means that the law will expire on 7 June 2011, By March 2011, the Government will review whether or not to extend the Act.

Minimum Wage

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the sum identified as national minimum wage underpayments to employees in 2009-10 has now been paid.

Danny Alexander: Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs does not keep separate statistics on the amount of arrears paid or not paid to workers.

Minimum Wage

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effects of prevailing labour market conditions on the workload of national minimum wage compliance officers.

Danny Alexander: A key indicator of the effects of this change is the number of complaints received about non-payment of national minimum wage (NMW). Since April 2009, the level of complaints from workers and former workers about non-payment has remained steady. Complaints received from third parties about potential non-payment of NMW have declined.

Minimum Wage

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average waiting time for consideration of a complaint of payment of wages below the rate of the national minimum wage was in the HM Revenue and Customs compliance team in  (a) Aberdeen,  (b) Ashton,  (c) Belfast,  (d) Birmingham,  (e) Cambridge,  (f) Cardiff,  (g) East Kilbride,  (h) Exeter,  (i) Maidstone,  (j) Teesside,  (k) Portsmouth,  (l) Romford,  (m) Sheffield,  (n) Ashton,  (o) Shipley,  (p) Wigan and  (q) Leicester in the latest period for which figures are available.

Danny Alexander: HMRC records the average elapsed time in working days from the date of registration of a complaint from a worker about non-payment of minimum wage to the date of closure of a case. The following table shows the average elapsed time, in working days, for complaint cases closed by the teams specified for the period April 2010 to the end of October 2010.
	
		
			  Team  Average elapsed time (working days) 
			 Belfast 69.09 
			 Birmingham 74.64 
			 Cambridge 90.12 
			 Cardiff 83.24 
			 Exeter 79.84 
			 Leicester 96.17 
			 Maidstone 85.34 
			 Portsmouth 99.70 
			 Romford 80.58 
			 Scotland (Aberdeen and East Kilbride) 89.75 
			 Sheffield 82.35 
			 Shipley 87.67 
			 Stockport (Ashton) 86.37 
			 Teesside 83.25 
			 Wigan 86.69 
		
	
	HMRC strives for continual improvement and is piloting new ways of responding to complaints from workers. This includes a triage approach with possible approaches being by telephone, letter or a face to face visit to the employer.

Minimum Wage

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of complaints to his Department on payment of wages below the national minimum wage resulted in a repayment of arrears to the employee in the latest period for which figures are available.

Danny Alexander: For the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 October 2010, 44% of complaints from workers and third parties about the non-payment of national minimum wage (NMW) resulted in the identification of arrears of wages as a result of non-payment of the NMW.
	HMRC does not keep separate statistics on the amount of arrears paid or not paid to workers.

Minimum Wage

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff HM Revenue and Customs employs in its national minimum wage regional compliance team in  (a) Aberdeen,  (b) Ashton,  (c) Belfast,  (d) Birmingham,  (e) Cambridge,  (f) Cardiff,  (g) East Kilbride,  (h) Exeter,  (i) Maidstone,  (j) Teesside,  (k) Portsmouth,  (l) Romford,  (m) Sheffield,  (n) Ashton,  (o) Shipley,  (p) Wigan and  (q) Leicester; and how many staff he expects to be in each such team in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012.

Danny Alexander: Current staff in post figures for the specified regional compliance teams are in the following table.
	
		
			  2010-11 
			  Team  Number 
			 Belfast 7 
			 Birmingham 8 
			 Cambridge 7 
			 Cardiff 8 
			 Colchester 4 
			 Exeter 9 
			 Leicester 6 
			 Maidstone 7 
			 Oxford 6 
			 Portsmouth 6 
			 Romford 9 
			 Scotland (Aberdeen and East Kilbride) 12 
			 Sheffield 6 
			 Shipley 6 
			 Stockport (Ashton) 7 
			 Teesside 9 
			 Wigan 7 
		
	
	No estimate of future staff numbers is available as HMRC is currently considering future resource requirements for 2011-12 and beyond, in the context of the comprehensive spending review.

PAYE: East Ayrshire

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency were found to have been  (a) overpaid and  (b) underpaid as a result of errors in the PAYE system in the most recent reconciliation process;
	(2)  if he will estimate the average repayment requested from a person resident in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in respect of the recent reconciliation of PAYE liabilities.

Danny Alexander: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost, as HMRC does not hold these data in relation to MPs' constituencies.

Public Bodies: Land

Nick Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on land directly owned by  (a) Government Departments and their agencies and  (b) other public bodies.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's central property database, e-PIMS, currently records 4,160 land holdings for central Government Departments and their arm's length bodies, of which 4,010 are marked as freehold. e-PIMS does not hold comprehensive information on other public bodies.

Public Expenditure

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of  (a) each impact assessment evaluated on the comprehensive spending review and  (b) each dataset used for modelling impacts.

Danny Alexander: The spending review on 20 October set out spending plans to 2014-15. Alongside this were published a 'Distributional Impact Analysis', with accompanying data sources, and the 'Overview of the Impact of the Spending Review on Equalities'. These can all be found on the HM Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spend_sr2010_documents.htm
	It will be the responsibility of Departments to ensure that equality issues are further considered when assessing options for spending reductions.

Public Expenditure

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Barnett consequentials he expects there to be from his Department's grants for business scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The devolved Administrations will have received Barnett consequentials on all changes to BIS's budget in line with the arrangements set out in the statement of funding policy.
	The Barnett formula is applied at departmental level rather than at individual programme level. Therefore it is not possible to quantify the amount of Barnett consequentials arising from this programme. Since the grants for business scheme is an England-only programme, it will be a matter for the devolved Administrations to decide whether to operate similar programmes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Public Sector: Employment

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has had discussions with ministerial colleagues on the likely effects on  (a) Wansbeck constituency,  (b) Northumberland and  (c) the UK of the change in the number of public sector jobs as a result of the implementations of the proposals in the comprehensive spending review.

Danny Alexander: Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with colleagues as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) released, as part of its Budget forecasts on 22 June 2010, projections for whole economy employment to 2015-16.
	Further information on its employment forecast, including projections for general government employment, was released on 30 June 2010 in its document "OBR forecast: Employment", which can be found on the following webpage:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/publications.html
	A revised forecast will be released on 29 November 2010.
	The OBR has not published forecasts on a sub-national level.

Stocks and Shares: Food

Bill Esterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward regulatory proposals to  (a) limit commodity speculation by hedge funds and banks and  (b) provide transparent clearing house arrangements for trading on food derivatives.

Mark Hoban: The Government are very aware of the importance of commodities markets to countries around the globe. We believe in particular that improved transparency and data availability is important to inform policy making in this area and to help regulators police markets effectively. We support initiatives to introduce clearing obligations, where appropriate, on commodity and other derivatives, and we are working with European partners to achieve this.

VAT: Vocational Training

Mark Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the imposition of value added tax on professional pilot training for the purposes of increasing the number of UK nationals undertaking such training; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: Education and vocational training are exempt from VAT when supplied by eligible bodies, such as schools, colleges, universities, local authorities and non-profit making organisations, or when provided under a Government-approved training scheme. All other supplies of education and vocational training are liable to VAT.
	Under EU law, we cannot extend the scope of this exemption, and there are therefore no plans to review the current treatment.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Advertising: Television

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has any plans to abolish price controls of ITV television advertising through contracts rights renewal .

Edward Davey: The Contract Rights Renewal undertakings were provided in 2003 as a condition of clearing the merger between Carlton Communications and Granada to form ITV plc. They were provided to address an anti-competitive outcome resulting from the increased market power the merged entity would be able to exert. Responsibility for taking determinative decisions about the continued need for these undertakings rests with the Competition Commission.
	In May 2009, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) advised the Competition Commission to undertake a formal review of whether the undertakings remained appropriate. The Competition Commission's provisional decision was published in September 2009. Its final report was published on 12 May 2010 following further rounds of substantive engagement on the matter with ITV. The report is available on the Competition Commission website at:
	www.competitioncommission.org.uk/inquiries/ref2009/itv/pdf/final_report.pdf
	The report provides a detailed examination of all relevant arguments as well as of the alternative mechanisms latterly put forward by ITV. It explains in full the Competition Commission's decision that the undertakings should remain in place subject to certain variations to the definition of ITV1.
	The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications is undertaking an inquiry into the regulation of television advertising. This includes consideration of the arguments around the Contract Rights Renewal undertakings applicable to ITV. I expect the inquiry to receive views from a wide range of interested parties including regulators and market participants.
	The Government will, of course, give careful consideration to the Committee's findings.

Broadband: Expenditure

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been spent from the public purse on extending broadband availability since 1997.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and its predecessor Departments have directly spent around £47 million on enabling broadband internet access since 1997. This excludes spending by the Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The funding went towards a number of projects covering availability and take-up.
	The breakdown of the spending is as follows:
	UK Broadband Fund: £30 million for projects to encourage broadband roll out in the regions across the UK from 2002-05
	Broadband Task Force: £86,000 from 2004-05
	Broadband Aggregation: £17 million from 2003-05
	Community Broadband Network: Part funding of £30,000 in 2004
	Broadband Awareness Portal Project: £40,000 in 2004-05
	Independent Networks Association set up: £150,000 in 2009-10.
	The Government have also now committed up to £530 million between now and 2015 to facilitate the delivery of universal broadband and stimulate private sector investment to deliver the best super-fast broadband network in Europe by 2015.

Broadband: Wirral

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much of the funding for broadband announced in the comprehensive spending review will be spent on programmes in Wirral West constituency.

Edward Vaizey: £530 million of funding to support broadband rollout is available up to 2015. However, to date no specific allocation of funds has been made for programmes in Wirral West constituency, or any other constituency.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects on changes to the Building Schools for the Future programme on small firms in the construction sector; what recent representations he has received on the topic; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: I have been asked to reply.
	The Secretary of State considered wide-ranging advice from officials on the decision on the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, including on the construction industry.
	On 5 July, alongside his announcement on BSF, the Secretary of State for Education announced a review of all areas of the Department for Education's capital spending. The report of the review is due by the end of the calendar year.

Business: Government Assistance

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the level of investment and working capital available to businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The coalition Government have articulated their ambition to ensure the flow of credit to viable SMEs and are committed to ensuring a stable business environment which gives businesses the confidence to invest and makes the UK an easy place to do business.
	The Government have published their response to the consultation on business finance issues, 'Financing a private sector recovery'. It is available at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/businessfinance
	There are various measures in place to support access to finance for businesses and provide the capital they need for investment and growth. The Government aim to continue to support and improve the diversity of sources and access to finance for SMEs and businesses through:
	"A four-year extension to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) making around £2 billion available to viable small companies without a credit history or lacking sufficient collateral.
	A commitment to the Enterprise Capital Fund programme of £200 million to support small businesses with the highest growth potential, providing more than £300 million of venture capital investment into the equity gap after both Government and private sector funding are combined.
	Welcoming the banks' announcement of a new £1.5 billion Business Growth Fund, to provide equity funding of between £2 million and £10 million for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) with strong growth potential."
	The Government will also work with the British Bankers' Association's Business Finance Taskforce and the banks on a range of commitments set out in their response to the Green Paper and which will assist small businesses with access to finance issues.
	Finally, the Government continue to monitor performance against the legally binding lending commitments agreed with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Lloyds Banking Group. These will deliver £50 billion and £44 billion of business lending this year respectively, providing businesses with capital for investment and growth.

Copyright: Internet

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the (i) level of online copyright infringement in the UK and (ii) potential effect on such infringement of the provisions of the Digital Economy Act 2010.

Edward Vaizey: The need for a robust independent assessment of the level of online copyright infringement is recognised by the Government. Under the Digital Economy Act (DEA), Ofcom is required to establish a base level of online infringement of copyright and to track the impact of DEA online copyright provisions. Ofcom are currently refining the methodology to be used so that they are in a position to begin measuring the level of infringement from when the initial obligations code comes into effect at the beginning of April 2011.

Debts: Advisory Services

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Office of Fair Trading plans to consult on its revised debt management guidance in the light of the outcome of its recent compliance review.

Edward Davey: I can confirm that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) plans to publish a draft revised version of the debt management guidance for consultation in line with HM Government's code of practice on consultation.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the oral evidence taken by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee on 26 October 2010, Q1, what definition of real activity he uses.

Edward Davey: holding answer 9 November 2010
	In the context of contributing to deficit reduction, my Department has sought to achieve savings through a series of radical reforms and by taking a tougher approach to efficiency. Within a smaller spending envelope, this is leading to reductions in real activity, i.e. lower programme spend in particular areas-such as spend previously provided via the RDAs.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what regulations his Department plans to  (a) repeal and  (b) amend in the next five years.

Mark Prisk: At present, it is too early to project how many regulations will be removed or amended over the course of the next five years.
	However, as a first step, the Government initiated a pipeline review of legislation inherited from the previous Administration. This is now well advanced, and, as part of this, this Department will repeal the Small Business Credit Adjudicator measure, saving BIS some £3 million, and amend the Ban on Unsolicited Credit Card Cheques measure to look for alternative approaches to regulation. In addition, the Right to Request Time to Train measure will be reduced in scope with small firms with 49 or fewer employees being exempted, producing savings to business of some £270 million per annum.
	The Government have also initiated the Your Freedom programme, and a number of ideas are being taken forward as a result. In addition, BIS has contributed two powers of entry for repeal under the Home Office Your Freedom Bill, namely Regulations (Gas Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1995 S.I. 1995/1629) regulation 24-(6); and Powers of entry under the Distribution of German Enemy Property Order 1950.
	The Budget announced a review of employment laws, and further reviews are planned. Among other things, these reviews will consider how the burden of regulation may be reduced. Such savings may be fed into the One-in, One-out (OIOO) process as OUTs. Generally, this Department will continue to work to identify further potential OUTs for OIOO.
	The Government's regulatory Forward Programme is due to be published later this year which will provide details of all forthcoming regulation.

Green Investment Bank

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure private sector investment in the proposed Green Investment Bank.

Mark Prisk: We are committed to working with the private sector to establish a Green Investment Bank that is effective in mobilising additional private sector investment into green infrastructure projects.
	It will, therefore, be run on an independent and commercial basis, employing appropriate private sector skills and expertise and free from ministerial interference in its day-to-day operations.
	Furthermore, we will undertake further design and testing to ensure it is effective in mobilising additional private sector investment into green infrastructure projects.

Higher Education: Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his proposed changes to higher education funding on the viability of individual higher education institutions.

David Willetts: Our reforms to higher education will shift the balance of public funds for teaching from direct grant to institutions to funding that follows the choices made by individual students. This will provide strong incentives for institutions to focus on providing high quality teaching as efficiently as possible. Over time, popular and successful institutions will be able to grow and we expect new providers to enter the sector providing they can offer teaching to the high standards students will expect. HEFCE will monitor the financial health and sustainability of institutions to protect the public investment in higher education. But HEIs are autonomous institutions and, if a university mismanages its affairs, we cannot offer a guarantee of protection.

Higher Education: Finance

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of funding for universities he expects to be drawn from the proceeds of tuition fees in each of the next three years.

David Willetts: We have not yet announced the level of public funding for universities for 2011-12 and subsequent years. We cannot therefore estimate the proportion of overall university income which will come from fees.

Higher Education: Finance

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding from the public purse he plans to allocate to universities in each of the next three years.

David Willetts: In the comprehensive spending review on 20 October 2010 it was announced that the higher education budget in England, excluding research, would fall from £7.1 billion to £4.2 billion in 2014-15. In addition it was announced that the ring-fenced science budget would be held in cash terms at £4.6 billion per year until 2014-15. Funding allocations for each year will be announced in due course.

Higher Education: Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effect on the labour market of his proposed changes to higher education funding.

David Willetts: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have discussed the proposed changes to higher education funding and student finance with all of our Cabinet colleagues and will continue to do so over the coming months.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his proposed innovation centres will be required to take on  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time apprentices.

John Hayes: BTEC qualifications in vehicle technology for the motorsports industry will continue to be available from Edexcel. The two qualifications referred to in this question will continue until they are replaced by Edexcel with more flexible, unit-based qualifications by the end of this year.
	It is the responsibility of sector skills councils, in this case SEMTA, and other representative bodies to determine the content of apprenticeship frameworks. We expect sector skills councils to work with employers to ensure that the range and content of apprenticeship frameworks fully meets the skills needs of their respective industries. This allows the market to determine the content of apprenticeship frameworks and keeps apprenticeships focused on meeting business skills needs.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures he will use to assess the performance of his Department's proposed innovation centres.

John Hayes: Funding for technology and innovation centres will be provided in the context of the Technology Strategy Board's overall programme of work and its objectives for specific technology areas. The success and contribution of individual centres will therefore be measured in the context of this overall objective.
	We will also monitor more specific measures including their ability to leverage private sector contract funding; attract grant funding from EU and national research programmes; the number of businesses they support and create; and the nature and scale of their interactions with the knowledge base.

Innovation: Malvern

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his decision is on the proposal from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire for a science and innovation centre in Malvern.

David Willetts: No decisions have been made. There are a number of areas of opportunity and the Technology Strategy Board will have to consider each of these cases on its merits and prioritise investments on those opportunities which offer the greatest scope for boosting UK growth and productivity on the basis of business and academic strength.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reason bids for local enterprise partnerships require approval by the Secretary of State.

Mark Prisk: Local enterprise partnership proposals need to meet the Government's expectations regarding support from business, economic geography, local authority support, added value and ambition, and board membership. More detail on these expectations are set out in the White Paper on Local Growth.
	The Government will enter into discussions with partnerships which meet these expectations about delivering the economic vision for their area. Partnerships which meet these expectations will also be likely to be in a good position to make credible bids to the Regional Growth Fund.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Devon

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reason his Department did not proceed with the bid for a local enterprise partnership submitted by Torbay, Devon and Plymouth local authorities.

Mark Prisk: Local enterprise partnership proposals were considered against the Government's expectations regarding support from business, economic geography, local authority support, added value and ambition; the details of which are set out in the White Paper on Local Growth.
	Those partnerships, which were not asked to progress to form their boards, were considered as not having met one or more of these expectations. Discussions with local representatives are continuing.

Mass Media

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what plans he has to encourage plurality and diversity in the media;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of levels of concentration of media ownership; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Government believe it is important for the media to reflect different viewpoints at the national level and to safeguard democratic debate. Plurality and diversity in the media market are encouraged by promoting effective competition in relevant markets and regulating mergers to ensure they do not result in a loss of such competition. Statutory rules enforced by Ofcom separately place absolute restrictions on cross media ownership and are designed to prevent too great a concentration of media power.
	Where a merger is not prohibited altogether by these rules, media mergers are subject to the same competition based regulation by the independent competition authorities as all other mergers. Exceptionally, the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills may intervene in a media merger to address concerns about the need to maintain plurality in media ownership.
	The statutory media ownership rules were reviewed by Ofcom last year. The Government agreed with Ofcom's recommendations. Therefore no changes will be made to the national cross-media ownership rules. However, the Government intend to bring forward legislation to remove the local cross-media ownership rules.

Minimum Wage

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people are paid at the rate of the national minimum wage in each constituency.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people are paid at the rate of the national minimum wage in each constituency. (22369)
	Estimates for the number of jobs paid at the national minimum wage are not available from the Office for National Statistics. Estimates for the number of employee jobs paid below the national minimum wage are available, but only for all employee jobs by Government Office Region, which is the lowest geographical breakdown published by ONS. I attach a table showing the number of all employee jobs earning less than the national minimum wage by Government Office Region in April 2009, the latest period for which figures are available.
	A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837
	
		
			  Estimates of jobs paid below the National Minimum Wage by Government Office Region in April 2009 
			   2009 
			  Government Office Region  Thousand  Percentage 
			 North East **13 **1.3 
			 North West *30 *1.1 
			 Yorks and Humber *22 *1.0 
			 East Midlands *19 *1.1 
			 West Midlands *22 *1.0 
			 Eastern *18 *0.8 
			 London *19 *0.5 
			 South East *31 *0.9 
			 South West *22 *1.0 
			 Wales **12 **1.1 
			 Scotland **17 **0.7 
			 Northern Ireland **16 **2.2 
			  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to220.  Key: * CV>5% and <=10% ** CV>10% and <=20%  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics. 2009

Motor Vehicles: Qualifications

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects on high performance engineering and the motorsport industry of the decision by Edexcel to withdraw as an awarding body for the BTEC First Diploma and BTEC National Award in Vehicle Technology (Motorsport) qualifications;
	(2)  whether he plans to take steps to ensure that the BTEC First Diploma and BTEC National Award in Vehicle Technology (Motorsport) qualifications form part of the apprenticeship and advanced apprenticeship frameworks in motorsport.

John Hayes: BTEC qualifications in Vehicle Technology for the motorsports industry will continue to be available from Edexcel. The two qualifications referred to in this question will continue until they are replaced by Edexcel with more flexible, unit-based qualifications by the end of this year.
	It is the responsibility of sector skills councils, in this case SEMTA, and other representative bodies to determine the content of apprenticeship frameworks. We expect sector skills councils to work with employers to ensure that the range and content of apprenticeship frameworks fully meets the skills needs of their respective industries. This allows the market to determine the content of apprenticeship frameworks and keeps apprenticeships focused on meeting business skills needs.

Regional Growth Fund

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely geographical distribution of successful applications to the Regional Growth Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The objectives and criteria for the Regional Growth Fund are set out in the Local Growth White Paper 'Local growth: realising every place's potential', which was published on 28 October and introduced to Parliament by an oral statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills made on that day,  Official Report, column 408.
	The Regional Growth Fund is a challenge fund and not ring-fenced or pre-allocated in any way to keep it flexible and responsive to the economic development needs of the country. All areas of England are eligible to bid for the Regional Growth Fund. However, one of the main objectives of the Regional Growth Fund is to strengthen the private sector in areas currently over- reliant on the public sector. Clearly those areas without such over-reliance will therefore have a weaker case.
	Decisions on successful proposals will be based on recommendations by the independent advisory panel, chaired by my noble Friend Lord Heseltine.

Regional Growth Fund

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in what circumstances a bid for funds from the Regional Growth Fund would be considered as meeting the exceptional criteria for funding of over £2 million.

Mark Prisk: The Regional Growth Fund is open to bids from the private sector and public private partnerships subject to a minimum bid threshold for applications of £1 million. There are no separate criteria for bids over £2 million.

Regional Growth Fund

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what advice his Department has issued to small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to make pooled bids for funds from the Regional Growth Fund.

Mark Prisk: Guidance for all bidders for funds from the Regional Growth Fund is available from the Regional Growth Fund website, which can be accessed via the BIS website at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/regional-economic-development/regional-growth-fund
	The website provides access to the application form and guidance, and an e-mail address and a series of local telephone numbers from where further information about the fund can be sought and questions answered. This Department is also organising a number of events across the country where potential bidders can get advice on the fund and on making quality bids.

Regional Growth Fund

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what arrangements he has put in place for  (a) receiving and  (b) evaluating pooled bids from small and medium-sized enterprises for funds from the Regional Growth Fund.

Mark Prisk: All bids to the Regional Growth Fund should be sent to BIS either by post (details on the Regional Growth Fund website):
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/regional-economic-development/regional-growth-fund
	or by e-mail:
	growthfund@bis.gsi.gov.uk
	in time for the closing date of each bidding round.
	On receipt, bids will be registered and evaluated by a cross-departmental team of economists and appraisers, ahead of being put to the independent advisory panel, chaired by my noble Friend Lord Heseltine. Final decisions on which bids to support will be taken by Ministers based on advice from the advisory panel.
	The same appraisal system applies to stand alone project bids and packages of bids presented collectively, regardless of their size.

Regional Growth Fund

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely number of small and medium-sized enterprises that will apply for funds from the Regional Growth Fund in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12.

Mark Prisk: The Regional Growth Fund is new and while we anticipate several hundred applications from a wide variety of bidders, no estimation has been made of the likely number of bids to generate from small and medium-sized enterprises.
	The £1 million minimum bidding threshold allows for flexibility and encourages innovative proposals. We expect some bids will comprise packages of smaller projects from SMEs which collectively make a compelling strategic proposal. In future bidding rounds, proposals will also be accepted for strategic investment programmes, which allow managed onward investment for growth of potential businesses.

Royal Mail

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the likely implications for the public purse of  (a) his proposed part-sale of Royal Mail and  (b) the proposed treatment of Royal Mail pension fund liabilities in the (i) short-term and (ii) long-term.

Edward Davey: The reforms we are proposing are there to secure the universal postal service, which Richard Hooper identified in his report as being under threat. It is too early to speculate on the likely proceeds that we will receive from the sale of Royal Mail. It will depend on the market value of the company at the time of sale, and the stake that we decide to sell in the first instance.
	We intend to transfer the historic liabilities of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) into a new pay-as-you-go public service scheme. As at March 2010 the RMPP had a deficit on an ongoing funding basis of £8.4 billion. In practice pensions will be paid as they fall due. On transfer, we expect payments of around £1 billion per annum will be required. We estimate payments will fall below £1 billion per annum after around 25 years.

Students: Fees and Charges

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of students entering higher education paid their fees before the end of their course in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Willetts: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows in the 2008-09 academic year, 30% of full-time English domiciled entrants and 52% of part-time English domiciled entrants to English higher education institutions paid their tuition fees fully from their own funds in the first year of their course. Figures on whether entrants pay their fees from their own funds for the full duration of their course are not available. Figures for the 2009-10 academic year will be available in January 2011.
	These figures include students who were not eligible for financial support for the cost of their tuition fees from the Student Loans Company. For example, figures include students on postgraduate courses, other courses not eligible for student support, or students who already hold an equivalent level qualification who are not eligible for tuition fee loans for a second undergraduate course.

Students: Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the annual average cost of tuition for an undergraduate student at a state-funded university was in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of the cost of such tuition was funded by  (a) his Department and  (b) the student.

David Willetts: Government fund the costs of higher education tuition through grants made by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and through the provision of subsidised fee loans to students. The average annual costs of a undergraduate student is around £7,000 per year, made up of around £4,000 in teaching grant and £3,000 in student fees.

Students: Loans

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of the student loan book.

David Willetts: At Budget 2010 and spending review 2010 the Government announced their intention to examine the potential for a sale of the Student Loan Portfolio.
	This work programme, led by the Shareholder Executive, is currently ongoing. The Government will make a decision on how and whether to proceed with a sale by Budget 2011.